Breath of Life
by Sparky She-Demon
Summary: The Second Rebellion failed, those who fought in it either executed or punished in some other way. There is a new President Snow. This is the 80th Hunger Games. And Isabel Storm of District 10 is unlike any female tribute before her: She's 37 weeks pregnant.
1. What Are The Odds?

**Chapter I: What Are The Odds?**

 **A/N: I got the idea for this story whilst researching for another one. This Hunger Games fic is after a failed Second Rebellion. The Hunger Games have gone on. Sometimes the places where my mind goes worries me. But I thought it was an interesting idea. There will be familiar people in this story, though they won't be showing up in this chapter. There are multiple OCs. I hope you enjoy my offering. Thanks go out to meaperson1 for being a sounding board and anyone else who helped. :) Enjoy the first chapter! SSD**

* * *

"Get up you lazy slut, it's Reaping Day!"

Isabel Storm shifted towards the edge of the bed. Being called such names by most of her family was common now. She was 37 weeks pregnant and unmarried. Not that it was her fault on that particular score. Both her family and Erik's had been incensed. Erik's parents had not allowed them to get married, because they did not think she was good enough for him. In fact, Erik had died in what was supposedly a ranching "accident" on his family's ranch.

Isabel knew in her bones that Erik had been killed by his family, most likely his father.

She counted herself lucky that her family had not thrown her out of the house. Yet. Isabel had been told that after she had the baby, the both of them would be cast out.

Little did they know, her boyfriend's two best friends, James and Damon, and their family were more than willing to take her in when the time came.

Isabel rubbed her back. The baby liked to press against her spine.

After showering, Isabel got dressed in a blue blouse and black stretchy pants. Not the most flattering of outfits, but given her condition, it was the best she could do.

By the time she got to the kitchen, her family had already left. Save for her youngest brother Tristan, the only people she had civilized conversations with were the Martells and the Frades.

 _"Hell, James and Damon's mother is going to help me deliver the baby. I don't know what I'd be doing without them,"_ Isabel thought to herself.

After having a breakfast of bacon and a three egg omelet with cheese (Isabel was really hungry this morning), she washed the plates.

On her way out the door, Isabel stopped to look at herself in the mirror on the wall. Her face was puffy, but her oceanic blue eyes gleamed. Her dark red hair was back in a braid, smooth and sleek.

She waddled out. Isabel missed Erik horribly. Sometimes the only thing getting her through the day was the fact that she was going to have a piece of him for the rest of her life.

* * *

By the time she got to the Square, Isabel was one of the last to get counted. Even though it had not been a long walk, her feet were already sore, when she went to stand with the 18 year olds, who ignored her.

There were now two videos the Districts were forced to watch. One about the Dark Days of the First Rebellion and another about the failed Second Rebellion. Rumor had it, that the prior President Snow (his son Romulus was now President, this would be his first Hunger Games in that office) had given the Mockingjay a rather symbolic punishment: She would be forced to have children, as many as the Capitol could wring out of her. She and her husband Peeta had two children under 3, with a third on the way.

Isabel, like most others in the Districts, that those kids would likely get Reaped.

District 12 had been rebuilt, and was doing slightly better than it once did. Mostly due to the influx of refugees from 13. In fact, someone from 12 had won the 78th Games. A 15 year old girl by the name of Gloria Sterling to be exact. But she was among the refugees from 13. So that explained a lot!

District 10's escort Jade LaRoche strode up to the stage quickly and with no bounce to her step. She wasn't _too_ over the top for a Capitolian. Her skin was a natural tan-ish color. It was her hair and eyes that seemed unnatural: silvery blonde hair, with purple eyes.

Once she got to the podium she said: "Welcome to the District 10 Reaping for the 80th Hunger Games. May the odds be ever in your favor."

* * *

The Mayor of District 10, Richard Bostwick, looked at the bowl with the names for the eligible girls, and grinned.

Soon the remaining stains on his family name would be erased.

* * *

"Let's get started with the girls, shall we?"

Isabel was not really paying attention to what was going on, as she was shifting her sore feet.

She almost didn't hear "Isabel Storm" called out. She couldn't believe her ears.

Once she realized it was for real, Isabel began waddling up to the stage.

She could feel everyone's eyes on her. And her baby was churning inside her.

When Isabel was about halfway to the podium, Jade called out, "Are there any volunteers?" If she wasn't mistaken, the Capitolian sounded almost desperate.

Isabel was far from surprised that there were no volunteers. Erik's entire family hated her, his father was the mayor. He could have engineered this, to get rid of her and the baby in one fell swoop.

* * *

Tylara Donovan was usually proud to be from District 10. She was the only Victor from 10 left standing after the Second Rebellion failed.

But today, the people of her district failed her. After over thirty years of mentoring tributes, Tylara did not think she could ever be surprised. This year was already proving her wrong. An obviously pregnant 18 year old girl had just been reaped and NO ONE was volunteering for her.

Whilst Tylara was looking around, she caught a glance at the mayor. He seemed to be having trouble suppressing a very evil grin.

It was in that moment, Tylara knew that this poor girl had been set up. She would have to find out more later on the train.

* * *

Before Jade could even reach for the bowl with the names for the boys, a voice called out, "I volunteer as the male tribute."

Isabel looked up. It was Damon Martell, twin to James, and one of Erik's best friends. He strode forward without any help from the Peacekeepers. She could feel the tears starting to run down her cheeks.

 _"Damn hormones,"_ Isabel thought to herself, _"I cry at the drop of a hat, though today does have a good reason for crying."_

When he got up to the stage, Jade asked, "What's your name?"

"Damon Martell," he replied. He gave the Mayor a filthy look.

Jade gave them both a weak smile before saying, "District 10, I give you your tributes for the 80th Hunger Games: Isabel Storm and Damon Martell.

As they were being whisked away by the Peacekeepers to the town hall, Damon whispered to Isabel: "James and I promised Erik, that if anything were to happen to him, we'd protect you. Since only one of us could volunteer in the event of you being reaped, we flipped a coin."

* * *

Normally a reaped tribute's family came to visit them in the Town Hall to say goodbye. There was no such thing for Isabel. She had nothing to do but twiddle her thumbs and rub her belly.

 _"I don't regret you. You are precious, no matter what anyone tells you."_

Isabel now knew that she was likely to be killed. She was an easy, slow moving target.

To her immense surprise, the door opened. To Isabel's joy, it was her 11 year old brother Tristan. He came up and hugged her carefully. Tristan was the only member of her family who did not treat her like dirt.

When he placed a hand on her distended belly, she moved it to where the baby was. After a few moments of feeling his niece or nephew move, Tristan threw his arms around her, crying, "I'm gonna miss you, Izzy!"

For a few more moments they were uninterrupted. To Isabel's surprise and again happiness, the Martell's came for a visit, obviously having just left Damon. They also gave her more hugs as well. Soon, James and Tristan left with Mr. Martell. Arthur's mother had stayed behind.

Laura Martell turned to her saying, "You have become like a daughter to me. A lesser girl would have caved to the demands of her family."

Isabel gave a small smile at that. She had really come to appreciate the older woman's advice. She was also her doctor.

"Since it is likely you will give birth during the Games, I will tell you this: While you are still able to move, get to a secluded area preferably a cave if there are some. There you should be able to have the child out of the elements."

Laura kissed Isabel on the forehead, sounding choked up, "I am proud of you. Remember that."

With that Laura left. Isabel could see the tears in the older woman's eyes.

* * *

The walk to the train was nearly intolerable. You could hear a pin drop in the silence. Damon walked at Isabel's side.

Mercedes Frade, her best female friend pushed her way forward. With a smile, she handed Isabel a wristwatch. Mercedes said, "You'll always need to know what time it is, even in the arena." She then stepped back in line.

He went up the stairs first, then helped Isabel up them. Though it took a little bit longer than they would have liked, they managed to get her up the steps.

As soon as they were inside, the train started on its way.

And they were on their way to the Capitol.

* * *

 **A/N 2: So... what do you all think? I'd love to hear what you think, especially of Katniss's punishment! SSD**


	2. Best Laid Plans

**Chapter II: Best Laid Plans**

 **A/N: Okay, the first chapter went over better than I thought it would. This is turning into definitely one of my more... interesting stories to me. This is one of the fastest turnarounds I've ever done. You'll be seeing two familiar faces in this chapter, hope you like them! Thanks go to TheReaper94(meaperson1) and Poolbreeze. SSD**

* * *

Isabel and Damon walked down the train. Isabel was having a devil of a time walking down the passageway, which was obviously not made with someone in her advanced condition in mind.

They had been told to head to the middle of the train, where their mentor and escort would be waiting for them.

"I hope there's food. I'm hungry," Isabel muttered.

Damon looked at her with a small smile on his face and said, "I am sure they have food for a mother with a growing baby.

They walked for a while longer before they got to the train car that looked the most like a living room. Sure enough there was a buffet table lined up.

Jade was already there with their mentor Tylara. She had won the 46th Hunger Games at the age of 16. Their mentor had dark hair and grey eyes.

Isabel could tell that there were questions in the eyes of the adults. She had an idea as to what at least two of those questions were.

"To get started I have two questions for you," Tylara began. To Isabel she asked, "How far along are you," and to Damon, "Are you the father?"

Damon answered before Isabel could even open her mouth with, "No I am not the father. But I was one of his best friends before his untimely demise."

"I am at 37 weeks. My pregnancy has been almost textbook according to Doctor Martell," Isabel replied while looking at the reclining couches, longing clear in her eyes.

"Go on, sit down. You need your rest in more ways than one." Tylara motioned to the couches.

Isabel smiled her thanks, letting out an "Ahhh" of pleasure at her feet finally getting to rest.

Damon, who was still standing, went to the food table, and got both Isabel and himself each a bowl of green grapes. Isabel was balancing her bowl on her belly.

Tylara was even more disgusted upon learning how far along the eighteen year old was. She was unsure of how to ask the girl why the mayor hated her so much that he would likely rig the reaping.

"Well, let's watch and see who you fellow competitors are. Avoiding the Careers is a key objective," Tylara instructed.

Her two tributes nodded. They settled in and got ready to see their competitors for the first time.

* * *

District 1 came up first.

"You still have to look our for what you are going to avoid," Tylara said again.

Isabel and Damon nodded. They had no intention of ignoring their mentor. The boy from 1 came up first: Auric Jerome. The commentators seemed to be pleased with him.

"He's built like an ox," Damon muttered, not overly fond of his odds against this boy.

"Let's hope he's nearly as intelligent," Isabel snickered.

Even Tylara had to grin at that remark.

Then the girl from 1 came up: Serena Emerald. Before Damon could even say a word, Isabel snarled, "Put your eyes back in your head, and your tongue back in your mouth!"

This time Jade looked up. The girl from 1 was stunning as usual.

Isabel did not look amused by her friend's behavior.

Tylara paused the video, then asked, "What can you tell me about them?"

After both thought for a moment, Isabel answered, "They're tall, they're strong, and they're well fed."

"Very good, but remember, the fact that they have been well fed up to this point is not entirely a good thing."

"How is that not a good thing," Damon asked.

"The Careers rely heavily on the supplies on the Cornucopia, take that away from them, then they're in trouble," Tylara explained.

During the recap of the reaping from District 2, neither Damon nor Isabel said anything as the names of Achilles Corvin and Freya Stone were given. Tylara saw in their eyes that they were scared of these two.

"District 2 tributes are generally ferocious almost on principle. But like the other Careers, they need the Cornucopia more than those from the outer districts."

The tributes from 3 had no comment from Tylara's newest set of tributes.

Then they got to the recap from District 4. The third and last of the Career Districts. Unlike their counterparts in 1 and 2, they were tan skinned from working in the sun.

"Of the Career districts, tributes from 4 are the most able to operate without the Cornucopia. They still need it though," Tylara mentioned.

Isabel took a closer look at Trident Hook, the 16 year old male tribute. Even in the picture, his sea-green eyes seemed cold.

"I don't like the look in his eyes," Isabel murmured as she got up from the couch. "I see nothing in them."

After stretching her back (the baby was pressing against her spine again) Isabel asked, "Where's the bathroom?"

Jade got up, "I'll show you. It's a ways down."

Despite herself, Isabel smiled in gratitude to the escort.

* * *

When Isabel left for the bathroom, Tylara paused the video.

Turning towards the boy she asked, "How far are you willing to go for her?"

"I gave my best friend my word to protect her. I will do whatever it takes, even death," Damon replied. And he meant every word of it.

Tylara was not surprised. Before she turned the video back on, she said, "Then you need to start thinking about potential allies. Because you will need them to get Isabel out of the bloodbath alive."

Damon nodded. He was now going to be watching the reapings with a more critical eye.

* * *

By the time the reaping recap for 6 rolled around Isabel had just gotten back. Jade was not with her.

"Where's Jade?" Tylara asked.

"She said she had to make a phone call, and told me to go on ahead," Isabel replied whilst she was at the buffet table.

Tylara watched the girl pile her plate with grapes, oranges, along with some meat, which the eighteen year old checked to make sure it was properly cooked.

Isabel did not talk much when she got back to the leather recliner couch. She kicked off her sandals before activating the recliner device. Jade returned shortly after Isabel sat down.

Tylara's two tribute's eyes were riveted to the screen, taking in every tribute.

As time wore on, Isabel seemed to be getting drowsy. She was nodding off by the time District 11 was rolling around, her head on Damon's shoulder.

By the time the recap was finished, Isabel was out like a light, snoring softly. Even Damon was rubbing his eyes.

"Perhaps you should head to your rooms. I'll wake you up an hour before you arrive at the Capitol. Get some sleep. You're going to need it," Tylara instructed.

Damon prodded Isabel awake, "Time to go to bed."

"Ooof, I wouldn't have wanted to miss _that,_ " Isabel muttered darkly.

"I'll show you where your rooms are. There are also showers if you want to take one, and closets from which you can get new clothes," Jade said.

* * *

One of the first things Isabel did when she got to her room was kick off her sandals, and took a look around. This room on the train was bigger than her own.

She looked through the closets. Jade had show her what buttons to push to program the clothes she wanted.

Right at that moment, Isabel started stripping her clothes off. They felt gritty and confining.

She went into the bathroom and took a look at the shower, with all its confusing buttons.

 _"All I want is a simple hot shower. Nothing fancy,"_ Isabel thought.

After examining the buttons quickly, she did just that.

The hot water felt _so_ good against her skin. Ever since her family had found out she was pregnant, she'd had to take her shower last, which meant no hot water. It had been something she missed.

Even though the baby couldn't move as much now (he or she had loved moving around even to the point of keeping Isabel up at night) the little one moved towards where the hot water was hitting her belly.

"You like hot water too, don't you?" Isabel asked with a smile as she washed her hair with orange scented shampoo.

After drying herself off, Isabel programmed the closet to give her an oversize t-shirt to sleep in.

She took a look at the bed (which was huge) and at the pillows which she saw that they were the kind that always stayed cool. Isabel was glad to see that.

 _"This will likely be the first comfortable night's sleep I have had in months,"_ Isabel thought as she slid into bed, lying on her side, and fell into an exhausted sleep almost immediately, with her hand on her belly.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the train from District 12...

 _"At least one of this year's tributes isn't completely hopeless,_ " Peeta Mellark thought after they went to bed. There was some hope for the boy, but next to none for the girl, who would likely be bloodbath fodder, and wouldn't last long after it if by some fluke she made it out.

Haymitch had threatened them that if they didn't get up when Peeta went to get them, that _he_ would come in, and dump buckets of ice cold water on them. They had more planning to do. Haymitch had not watched the reaping recap.

Haymitch still drank heavily, but drank less the Games, after threats from both himself and Katniss (hers were more effective than his). They had all been quite pleased when Gloria won, even though she was originally from 13.

The main reason Haymitch had been allowed to live was that he was the only other person left available that could control Katniss (besides Peeta himself). Haymitch was not as polite with her as Peeta was.

"So are there any twelve year olds this year," Haymitch asked as he sprawled onto a couch.

"No, but there is something worse." Peeta's face was even paler than usual.

"What could possibly be worse than a twelve year old," Haymitch snarked.

 _"Showing is better than telling,"_ Peeta thought as he clicked to the recap of the District 10 reaping.

Peeta watched as Haymitch's eyes turned to the size of dinner plates, before he blurted,

"What are they thinking, she's ready to pop!"

* * *

 **A/N 2: Actually, it was that last line that kept Haymitch alive. In my mind he was the only one who could say it. So.. what do you think? I hope I got Haymitch right. I picture Tylara as Karen Allan. SSD**


	3. A Horse is a Horse (of course,of course)

**Chapter III: A Horse is a Horse (of course, of course)**

 **A/N: And here is chapter three. I'm really on a roll! It's a fun story to write. Again thanks go out to TheReaper94 and anyone else who helped. Enjoy the chapter! SSD**

* * *

Morning came all too soon when Isabel was awakened by Tylara's light shake to her shoulder.

"It's time to get up. If you move quickly, you'll have time to eat and watch the entrance into the Capitol."

With that, the older woman left, turning in the direction of Damon's room.'

Isabel stretched as she always did in the morning. The baby was not pressing against her spine this morning, which was a rare thing since the beginning of the eighth month.

The baby moved a little as she got up.

"Oh are you awake too? We'll be taking one of those hot showers again," Isabel cooed.

The hot shower felt as good as it had the night before.

After drying off, Isabel looked at the clothes from yesterday on the floor. She wanted to wear something new, unconnected with home. She would keep her shoes however.

So at the drawers, she programmed a pair of stretchy denim pants and a forest green top. However, Isabel put on her soft sandals from home. They felt good on her feet, which were not swollen. Yet.

Isabel went back to the bedside table, and put on the watch Mercedes had given her. It was black and blue, with a wolf's head under the hands.

She wrapped it around her right wrist, as she made her way to the living room car of the train again.

It was time for breakfast.

* * *

As soon as Isabel entered the car, Jade pressed an empty plate into her hands.

"Eat up. You likely won't get to eat until after the parade."

Feeling ravenous all of the sudden, she piled her plate high with bacon, sausage, watermelon, and eggs.

Damon walked in as Isabel was sitting down. "How did you sleep?" Isabel asked her friend.

"I slept like a hibernating bear, which surprised me. What about you?" Damon asked as he piled his plate high as well.

"Not too horrible. The bed was comfy," Isabel replied.

They were tearing into their plates when Tylara asked, "Do you want to be trained separately or together?"

Damon and Isabel took one look at each other and replied in stereo, "Together" and went back to their eating.

Tylara let them eat in silence for a while, as she was eating her breakfast too, before inquiring, "Do you two have any kind of talent with a weapon of some kind?"

"I am good with a whip and a machete," Damon replied.

"I can throw knives pretty well," Isabel said before taking a bite out of a piece of bacon.

"That's an understatement. You are better at that than pretty much all of the vaqueros from several area ranches!" Damon shot back to his friend.

"I'm a bit out of practice," Isabel directed at Tylara.

"Still, let me see what you can do with knives," her mentor replied.

Isabel got up, went to the table, and picked out three steak knives. In rapid succession, all three hit in between two panels very close together.

"If that's what you call being out of practice, I can only imagine what you can do with practice," Jade remarked.

Tylara felt a great deal of relief at seeing Isabel with the knives. The pregnant girl would have her way of defending herself.

"Okay, keep what you are good at for the private sessions with the Gamemakers. During training focus on things you aren't good at, and Isabel, nothing too physical."

All four of them went back to eating in silence. Both Damon and Isabel went back up for more.

"If you want to get a good look at the Capitol, now would be a good time for the best view," Jade noted.

Damon and Isabel scrambled to the window, and took in the beauty of the Capitol. It was a beautiful city, no one could deny that.

It was in that moment, it hit Isabel: She was competing in the Hunger Games, while pregnant. And she was nearing the end of the pregnancy, she would likely give birth in the arena!

"Izzy, are you alright? You look like a sheet," Damon's voice sounded far away.

Isabel was starting to feel that tasty breakfast rise in her throat.

Remembering how she had looked earlier in the pregnancy when suffering from vomiting (Isabel had called it morning, noon, and night sickness), Damon rushed and found an empty bowl.

Waving him away, Isabel said, "I'm alright. I just need to stay sitting down for a moment." She still thought,

 _"How am I going to do this? The last time the odds were in the favor of a tribute from 10 was in the 70th Hunger Games. Will the odds ever be in my favor?"_

As the train slowed down in the station, Tylara gave them an instruction: "Let the stylists do what they want, don't resist, no matter what."

* * *

For the past several hours, Isabel had undergone getting her eyebrows tweezed, and her legs, arms, underarms, torso, and pubic area waxed. The nails on her feet and hands had also been shaped and cleaned.

Apparently the stylist wanted her cleaned up before meeting her for the first time.

Isabel had used the time to take in what her prep team looked like. They all looked to be on the younger side of things, but that did not mean anything in the Capitol. Domitia had bright blue hair, black eyes, and many tattoos. Esmerelda had green hair, cat-like contacts in her eyes, and dyed white tiger skin. Last, but by no means least, the only man in the group, Vothan, had silvery blonde hair, yellow cat-like contact lenses in his eyes, very pale skin, and fang like canine teeth. He was quiet and watched the proceedings in silence.

She was quite thankful that the women had done most of the waxing.

"Just one more swathe and we are done, your legs were a jungle of hair!" Domitia squeaked.

"Well I haven't been able to see my legs, much less shave them," Isabel smiled tightly.

All three of the flitted around her looking for any stray hairs.

"We can't wait to see what Antonio has for you!" Vothan grinned, his fangs showing.

Isabel was wearing a light blue robe. She was going to be keeping it on for as long as she could.

As the minutes wore on, Isabel got even more nervous. The baby moved, sensing her anxiety.

The robe barely fit over her large belly.

 _"But it's better than nothing,"_ Isabel thought as she rubbed it.

The door opened, which made her jump, well as much as she could anyway.

Isabel looked her stylist over for the first time. He was very tall, and decently muscled. She was surprised he had not gone into the Peacekeeper Corps, as some Capitolian men occasionally did. His skin, which looked to be its natural light brown color, reminded her of Mercedes and the rest of the Frades. His hair and eyes were also dark. His shirt and pants were a dark red and black respectively. There was some embroidery on the shirt, but it was still a mostly understated outfit.

"I have always thought that there was a time and a place for being flashy, and now is not exactly the time. Let me take a look at you please. My name is Antonio Sand," the man stated.

Isabel was surprised that he had said "please" when he asked to take a look at her.

"Do I have to take my robe off," Isabel asked, praying to whomever would listen that she would not have to do that.

"You can keep your robe on, I've seen what I want to see. Please sit down, I'm sure you want to."

Isabel had to fight to keep tears from her eyes. Very few people, outside the Martells, the Frades, and her little brother Tristan had been kind to her or given her the time of day. And here her stylist was, being nice to her.

 _"Why is he being so nice to me,"_ Isabel wondered.

Her emotions must have shown on her face, when Antonio said, "I have always made it my personal policy to be decent to the tributes." A beat later he asked, "Would you like anything to eat?"

"Just some water please." Isabel wasn't feeling hungry at the moment. In fact, she felt rather nauseous.

After she had taken a few sips, Antonio began with, "As I'm sure you're well aware, it is traditional to dress tributes according to what their district does for the Capitol for the Parade."

 _"District 10 is livestock. Sometimes that means cowboy/cowgirl costumes, other times it means dressing up as the animals. Please, whoever is listening, don't let me be dressed up as a cow or pig!"_ Isabel could feel the blood running out of her face at the thought.

"Dressing you as a cow or pig would be trite, given your present condition," Antonio had not stopped speaking while she'd spaced out.

 _"Thank the Maker for that!"_

"Do you like horses," Antonio asked all of the sudden.

"I love working with horses. That's my job in my district." Isabel began to get the feeling that she was going to be dressed as a horse. Which she did not find too upsetting.

* * *

 _"This could be a lot worse. Could be a lot better, but could be *much* worse,"_ Isabel thought as she looked in the mirror at her parade costume.

The dress she was wearing was silvery white, with a black vest with silver horses embroidered on it, covering her chest. The dress went to a little below her knees. Her costume shoes were flat soled boots that went up to her knees, and looked like the legs of a grey horse. On her head would go a hat that was pretty much a horse's head with a black rope net that could pass for reins, which connected to a black and silver bridle. All in all, Isabel wasn't particularly upset.

The costume also actually fit pretty well over her belly.

"We aren't going to be overtly advertising your pregnancy just yet, but it won't be hidden either," Antonio had explained.

Isabel felt her baby wriggling inside her a little bit.

"Hey Izzy. You don't look completely tacky," a familiar drawling voice came from behind her.

Isabel turned around with a real smile on her face. She saw Damon in a black and silver cowboy outfit, complete with a hat.

Before they could say anything more, their stylists came forward.

"It's time to get you two arranged in the chariots," Damon's stylist Octavia said.

With that, Isabel put on her hat. Damon held out his arm for her.

Isabel was looking forward to seeing what the other tributes were dressed up as!

* * *

 _"Okay, I am not the worst dressed tribute in the Parade,"_ was Isabel's thought as she took her first look around.

Districts 1, 2, and 4 looked good as per usual. District 1 was dressed up as gemstones, a sapphire for the boy, and an emerald for the girl. District 2 was dressed up as gladiators from Ancient Rome, according to Antonio. Both outfits for those districts covered most of their bodies.

The same could not be said for the two from District 4. All you practically saw of them was skin. They were dressed up as sexy sailors.

The District 5 tributes were dressed in black suits covered in wires that connected to the round things on their heads. They both looked extremely nervous.

The next couple of districts weren't much to look at. District 6 had puled a pair of Morphlings again.

 _"If anyone is more Bloodbath bait than me, it's those two,"_ Isabel observed.

District 7 was dressed up as trees, which almost never changed. District 8 looked like blobs of silk, which was quite unflattering to both tributes from there.

District 9 was dressed up as farmers, but the outfits were a bit more form fitting than usual. The District 11 tributes were dressed up as fruit, an apple and an orange to be precise.

 _"An orange sounds really good right about now,"_ she mused to herself as her stomach rumbled.

District 12's costume made Isabel's eyes go wide. They were covered coal dust, and were only wearing what looked like black swimming suits to cover strategic areas. They were nearly more naked than District 4.

 _"Thank the Maker, I'm not naked!"_

Isabel shuddered at that thought. She was also well aware that while she was looking over the other tributes and their costumes, they were staring at her in turn. Or more accurately, they were staring at her midsection. Isabel had felt the eyes of the Careers gleaming at the thought of an easy kill.

 _"I won't make an easy kill, not if I have anything to say about it!"_

The Parade had started. Districts 1, 2, and 4 came out to the predictable roars of the crowd.

As District 5 came out, their wide headdresses began crackling with electricity. Isabel did not want to get cooked by it!

As 9 began to roll out, Damon turned to her and whispered, "I'll hold on to you. Don't be scared, I'll protect you."

Isabel nodded. She did not feel like opening her mouth at the moment. Nausea was climbing in her throat.

Once they rolled out, Isabel was temporarily blinded by the flickering lights and the flashing of the cameras. She and Damon seemed to be getting their fair share of attention from the crowd.

Isabel was quite thankful for the semi-concealing attributes of her costume, and the high front of the chariot.

Once the chariot came to a stop in front of the mansion, Isabel did not really pay much attention to the speech. She was looking at the screens that were showing the tributes during the speech. The Careers were getting a lot of air time, along with District 5, along with her and Damon.

When the chariots began moving back to the Training Center, Isabel thought,

 _"They'll be seeing me in all my pregnant glory soon enough!"_

* * *

 **A/N 2: That went a bit longer than I originally planned. I thought this was going to be a short chapter! I've actually casted a few more of the characters in this story.**

 **Isabel Storm: Emilia Clarke**

 **Damon Martell: Ian Somerhalder**

 **Antonio Sand: Joe Manganiello**

 **If you want to know where I got the inspiration for Isabel's costume, go to your favored search engine, and type in "Jacqueline's Horse costume from Ever After". Isabel will also become more active in the next chapters. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I'd love to hear what you think of it! SSD**


	4. Turtle Soup

**Chapter IV: Turtle Soup**

 **A/N: Here's chapter 4. I'm really liking how this story is being received. I wasn't expecting it to go over this well. Thanks go out to TheReaper94 for his sounding board work. Enjoy the update! SSD**

* * *

Isabel woke up early on her own the morning after the Tribute Parade. She had barely been able to shuck off her costume to the floor before falling onto her bed, naked as a jaybird.

 _"I must have been really tired. I haven't slept naked in over five months,"_ she thought to herself as she lolled out of bed.

There was a mirror in the room. Isabel ignored it, knowing what it would show.

 _"A bulging belly, engorged breasts, and swollen feet. I don't need to be reminded about that!"_

There was a good reason Isabel was up early. Her thoughts wouldn't let her sleep any longer. There'd been a checkup on her, after the Parade, which had been full of statements at how good the baby looked, and that despite a little high blood pressure, she was in good health as well. Even though all had supposedly been well, Isabel was still uneasy.

Isabel heard the door open and rushed back into the bed to cover herself up. A grey eyed young man dressed in white came in and hung up a garment bag silently.

 _"Likely, these are my training clothes,"_ Isabel thought before saying aloud, "Thank you."

The dark haired young man nodded and gave her a slight bow. He had not said a word the entire time.

After he left, Isabel realized that she had just encountered an Avox for the first time. Avoxes were traitors to the state whose tongues had been cut out.

 _"A fair few were probably made after the failed Rebellion,"_ Isabel mused as she made her way to the bathroom.

 _"I wonder who he is,"_ was one of her thoughts as she was in the shower.

After she left the shower and dried off, Isabel opened the garment bag and took her first look at her exercise clothes.

Everything seemed to be designed to be as loose-fitting as possible, so as to not restrict movement in any way.

The shirt was a deep purple, and the pants were black. The shoes were black and purple as well.

Isabel was thankful that the shoes were a size too big, to accommodate possible swelling. There was one problem though: There were laces on them, and Isabel had not been able to put on shoes like that without help in months.

She would likely have to ask Damon or Tylara to help her with them.

Isabel began to walk to the living area barefoot, with her shoes and socks in her hands.

* * *

Once she got to the living room, the grey-eyed Avox was still there.

Isabel took in the buffet of food in front of her. Like everything else in the Capitol, the selection of food was spectacular.

Knowing that she needed protein and other things for energy when the training started, Isabel looked it over more closely.

Isabel decided to make an omelet, and fill it up with cheese and sausage. With it, she'd have lightly browned toast, and when she spied some green grapes, she took those too.

 _"If I can't eat all of this, and I likely won't, I'll just give it to Damon to finish. He's an eating machine,"_ Isabel thought to herself.

She flipped the omelet as she waited for the toast to be ready. The grapes were already in a bowl next to her plate.

Shortly after Isabel slid her omelet onto her plate, her toast popped up, browned exactly the way she liked it. After spreading butter on the toast, Isabel noticed a familiar looking (and smelling) brown liquid.

It was hot chocolate. She did not get to have it very often, and Isabel loved it even more every time she had it.

After taking her plates to a table, Isabel went back to the buffet, poured herself a cup of hot chocolate, and took a long sip from the cup. And as the taste flowed over her tongue, made Isabel feel better.

Isabel waddled back to the table with a smile on her face. Without further ado, she tore into her omelet.

* * *

Gale Hawthorne watched in silence as the girl from 10 ate her breakfast.

He had always thought that the Hunger Games were a crime against humanity. That was among the many reasons that he had helped in trying to put a stop to them.

Once upon a time, Gale had thought that there could be nothing worse than a 12 year old competing in the Games.

Looking at Isabel Storm's hugely rounded belly, he realized that there were worse things.

Gale noticed her shoes and socks on the floor next to her chair. Since she had not come down in them, Isabel likely needed help in that area.

* * *

Isabel looked up as the Avox coughed.

"What is it," she asked.

He pointed at the shoes and socks, then mimed tying the shoes.

"Are you offering to help me with my shoes and socks," Isabel asked again.

The Avox nodded.

 _"Good thing I was already good at charades,"_ she thought before saying, "Go ahead."

In a prompt fashion, the grey eyed Avox got her socks and shoes on. He proceeded to double knot the laces.

"Thank you," Isabel murmured. The Avox bowed and left.

A few more minutes of eating, Isabel looked at her plate. She'd eaten most of the grapes, half of the omelet, and both pieces of toast. She felt full.

 _"I should have made a smaller meal. But everything looked so good,"_ Isabel thought to herself.

A few minutes later Damon arrived. The color scheme for his exercise clothes was blue and black.

"You made too much didn't you," he commented as he looked at her plates.

"Everything looked so good, I couldn't resist," Isabel said as she popped a grape into her mouth.

Rolling his eyes Damon said with a smile, "I'll finish your food, along with what I make for myself."

"Thank you," Isabel replied.

As Damon was making his food, he remarked, "You'll want to bring some food with you when we go down to training."

"I am not sure bringing food to training is allowed, Damon," she said even though she was planning on doing just that.

"They better," Damon muttered darkly.

They were eating in silence for a while, when Isabel finally noticed that her exercise pants had large pockets in them. She got up, and proceeded to put some granola bars into them.

About an hour before training started, Tylara finally came into the living room area. Isabel was having another cup of hot chocolate, and Damon was finishing up Isabel's omelet.

"Training starts in less than an hour. Damon, I want you to stick to Isabel like glue. From what I've been able to gather, the Careers are going to be circling her like sharks," Tylara warned.

Damon nodded. He was going to be sticking close to Isabel anyway.

"I though that tributes were not supposed to fight each other during training," Isabel remarked.

"That is true," Tylara conceded before saying, "But that does not mean that they won't try to bait you and Damon into a fight. You both need to remain as calm as possible."

Until about a quarter to 9, they all sat in silence.

"Isabel, do you have a little something with you to eat if you want it," Tylara asked.

"I have some granola bars in my pockets," Isabel assured.

"Good. And I know I've said this before to you Isabel, but I'll say it again: Take it easy."

 _"I have a feeling that I'm going to be hearing that quite a bit today,"_ Isabel thought as she waddled towards the elevator after Damon and Tylara.

* * *

Even though the arrived five minutes before the start time, Isabel and Damon were not the last ones to arrive.

She and Damon had just been told to stand still as a piece of paper with their district number on their backs.

 _"Like anyone is going to forget which district I'm from. All they have to do is look at my belly and know exactly who I am,"_ Isabel thought to herself.

She saw that with her and Damon's arrival 20 of the tributes were already there, except those from Districts 3 and 8.

Isabel did her best to ignore the wolfish looks on the faces of the six Careers. But she could not help but feel a frisson of fear course through her veins.

When the last two districts arrived, and athletic woman called Atala started pointing out where the stations were, and what each of them taught.

After she finished talking, and set them to the stations, Isabel heard a very loud and carrying "MOOOO!"

Turning around, Isabel saw the boy from 1, Auric, had been the one who'd made the noise. The other five were sniggering.

Before she could stop him, Damon snarled, "Pick on someone your own size!"

The Careers weren't able to say anything in reply as the Peacekeepers, sensing danger got in between Damon and Auric.

Isabel settled for giving the six a filthy look. She and Damon moved away after the Careers went to the weapons station.

"Which station shall we go to first," Isabel wondered aloud, trying to forget the unnerving encounter.

"Let's go over to the camouflage station. We're all going to need to hide at some point," her district partner replied.

They both knew that each of them had figurative targets on the backs of their heads.

The Careers wanted their blood. And the blood of Isabel's unborn child.

* * *

The rest of the first half of the training day was fairly uneventful. Damon was keeping his eyes peeled for potential allies. He had begun that the night before during the Tribute Parade. One person he was already interested in allying with was Thomas Harker of District 12. He'd apparently been studying to become a healer, and had been nearly done with his training before he was reaped.

Damon knew that a healer, even a trainee one, would be of immense use to Isabel in the arena. He wanted someone who had even limited experience with human births. He did not want Isabel to have to deliver the baby on her own.

 _"Foals are one thing, human babies are another,"_ Damon thought.

He knew that they would need more than a healer to get Isabel out of the bloodbath. For that he'd need a fighter or two. He would settle for a fast runner though.

Damon watched the girl from 11 wield a scythe with ease.

However, he wanted one more on the team. Damon would have to look more closely at other tributes.

Damon was planning on approaching the boy from 12 after lunch.

* * *

As it would turn out, Thomas Harker from 12 came to them first.

Isabel and Damon paused as the food carts were brought in.

"That smells divine," Isabel murmured as her mouth began to water at the aromas.

Whether by luck or by design, the cart with their favorite dumplings was far from where the Careers were located.

The Careers had not been satisfied with Auric's early moo. Over the course of the day, Isabel had been treated to several more moos, along with a couple of times apiece being called "whore","slut", and the less offensive "cow" from the six. Even though she'd been hearing that from most of her family for months (save Tristan) it still cut a lot deeper than she would like.

 _"Will it never stop,"_ Isabel had thought after the latest harassment before lunch.

 _"I know what I look like. I know I'm not as sleekly beautiful as Serena, Freya, and Mirena. I don't need or want to be reminded,"_ Isabel was fighting back tears at that thought. The baby wriggled inside her.

"Come on Izzy, let's eat." Damon touched her elbow and they went towards a table that was as far from the Career table as possible.

They had just started cutting into their dumplings when an unexpected voice asked, "Is this seat taken?"

Isabel looked up first. It was the boy from 12, Thomas.

After exchanging a look and a nod to the other, Isabel replied, "You can sit here if you like."

 _"Hmm... Perhaps we have found our first ally. A healer would be a lot of use for me in the arena,"_ Isabel mused to herself.

She was so deep in thought, Isabel missed Thomas's question.

"I'm sorry, what was your question?" Isabel felt embarrassed that she'd missed the question.

"I asked, how far along are you," the hazel-eyed boy asked, kindness clear in his voice.

"37 weeks, and now 3 days," Isabel replied before returning to eating her meat and cheese dumplings.

"If you need any help, I would be glad to be of service," Thomas said.

The newly allied trio were putting their dishes up for the Avoxes to clear away when Trident Hook from 4, said in a carrying voice, "I've always liked turtle soup. What I like so much about turtles, is that once they're stuck on their backs, the soft underbelly is _so_ easy to slice through and kill them. They can't get up off their backs without help."

All six careers laughed loudly.

Isabel, Damon, and Thomas were not. In fact, Isabel's face was completely ashen.

All three of them had the feeling that Isabel was the turtle in that scenario.

And they didn't like it one bit!

* * *

They weren't the only ones who were _not_ amused by the antics of the Careers. But Rose Drake figured she was one of the few that was willing and able to face the Careers over it.

Rose Drake of District 11 was very much willing to ally with both of the tributes from District 10, especially the girl Isabel.

Rose hated the Hunger Games. She always had, but it had become more pronounced since her best friend had died in the 74th Games.

She had volunteered for the sake of her sister, who wasn't quite right in the head.

Rose had heard something from her mentor Aras McCoy, who'd won the first Games after the failed rebellion. District 11 was very much displeased that a pregnant girl was competing, much less one so far along.

Aras had said that the Capitol seemed to be going for drama this year.

She watched as the girl from 10 and her district partner, struggled at the weapon making station. They were trying to make a spearhead stay in place.

 _"Now is as good a time as ever to make my intentions clear in becoming allies with those two,"_ Rose thought as she strode over to them.

"Here give me that, I'll show you two how to do that," Rose said.

After Isabel had given her the spear she'd been working on, with a few quick motions of her hands, Rose had secured the spearhead to the shaft.

When she handed the spear back to Isabel, Rose held out her hand with a smile on her face and asked,

"So, shall we begin?"

* * *

The rest of the first day of training was quiet for Isabel. There was still some verbal abuse from the Careers, but it was easier to ignore them, with her and Damon newfound allies.

When Tylara had asked how their day went at dinner, she was not surprised at all by the verbal abuse from the Careers (she had been expecting worse), but she had been really happy that two allies had been made.

Now that it was time for bed, Isabel was more than glad to strip her sweaty clothes off her body, and take a nice, long, hot shower.

Like her previous hot baths, the baby moved around to where the hot water was hitting her belly. Isabel rubbed her belly, relishing in the little kick her hand got.

"You're liking these showers almost as much as I am aren't you," Isabel said in a happy voice before murmuring, "I do hope you won't get too upset when we don't have any during the Games!"

Isabel was dog tired from training, even though she couldn't do anything too physical, it was still exhausting. It took everything she had to crawl under the covers and grab a pillow to cushion her belly. She fell asleep almost instantly, with her hand over her belly.

* * *

 **A/N 2: So.. what do you all think of our Avoxed Gale? What do you think of Thomas and Rose? There will be one more ally acquired in the second day of training. The behavior of the Careers will also get worse, am open to suggestions as to what they'll do. Can't wait to hear what you all say! SSD**


	5. Play the Cards You're Dealt

**Chapter V: Play the Cards You're Dealt**

 **A/N: Apologies on the longer wait. The chapter really got away from me. However, with this longer wait, comes a longer chapter, with a lot that happens in it. Thanks go out to TheReaper94 and alexandria-likethecityinEgypt for their help. Enjoy this long chapter! SSD**

* * *

While her tributes were sleeping, Tylara decided to go talk with the mentors of Isabel and Damon's allies.

She wasn't too worried about either district's mentors. Aras, despite his youth, was pretty good at mentoring. During his own Games, he had been allied with the tributes from 10. And in the Games afterwards, at least one of his tributes followed suit.

Tylara wasn't sure which of the two Victors from 12 present were Thomas's primary mentor. She'd known Haymitch for years, even passing a bottle of whiskey between them. For the first ten years after his win in the Second Quarter Quell, Haymitch had actually tried to mentor the wretched kids he got. But after those ten years of dealing with near constant Bloodbath bait, he had turned to a drunken stupor.

She knew that he still drank like a fish frequently, but he'd seemed to have cleaned up his act, at least during the Games.

Peeta was the one who opened the door when she knocked. Before he could speak she asked, "Hello Peeta. Is Haymitch decent?"

"He's as decent as he ever is. Taking a shower at the moment. Would you like to come in," he asked politely.

Once she got in and sat down, Tylara decided to get down to business. She was never one to beat around the bush. So she asked, "Which one of you is Thomas's primary mentor?"

"Haymitch is his mentor. But as he just went in, he'll be a bit. Is there anything I can do to help," the younger man asked.

Wanting to get started, Tylara asked, "What do you think of Thomas allying with my tributes?"

"It's definitely a useful thing, especially given the fact that your two need a healer badly," Peeta replied before asking, "How's she holding up?"

"She's scared. And with very good reason. The Careers are circling her like a pack of wolves. With some help from Damon, she's holding up better than I thought. Definitely better than I would," Tylara remarked before snarling, "She's likely going to have to give birth in hellish conditions, and with cameras on her every move, and documenting every scream she makes!"

Neither of them spoke for a while, until Haymitch came in with damp hair.

"Hey Tylara, what's up," Haymitch asked as he made his way to the bar area.

"I was just asking Peeta what he thought of the new alliance involving our tributes. What do you think old friend," Tylara queried.

"He's got a good heart, Thomas. That's one of the reasons he would have made a good healer. I'm okay with the alliance. That girl of yours is going to need all the help she can get," Haymitch finished as he knocked back a shot.

"If it doesn't strain your hospitality, would you give me some of that," Tylara asked Haymitch, motioning to the bottle of moonshine in his hand.

Peeta was shocked to see Haymitch pass the bottle to Tylara with no comment other than an eye roll. He was even more surprised when she knocked back a shot that rivaled Haymitch's.

"Well tomorrow is coming fast. I'll be talking to Aras about Rose tomorrow during training. One of you should probably be there," Tylara said as she left.

* * *

Day 2 of training started quiet for Isabel. She, Damon, Rose, and Thomas had started the day at the stealth station, which she wasn't doing too badly at.

After that, they'd gone back to the camouflage station, then the edible plants one. Isabel was now watching the other three work on hand to hand combat.

While they were occupied there, she ambled over to the trap station where a skinny dark haired, dark eyed boy was working on an elaborate metal trap with nimble looking fingers.

"May I join you," she asked politely.

The boy flicked a glance downward at her rounded belly before whispering, "Sure" and going back to work.

The two of them worked in silence before the boy said, "I can help you with that," as he took the wires out of her hands.

Isabel watched as the boy's agile fingers quickly wired the trap properly.

"There, that's how you do it," the boy said with a shy smile.

 _"Traps can be used for food as well as on people. I don't think any of us are good at traps. Damon and I certainly aren't. This boy would be highly useful,"_ Isabel thought.

"What's your name," she asked.

"My name's Nikola Coil."

"You're from 5 right?"

"That would be correct," the boy replied whilst working on another trap.

"You're good at traps. None of the members of the alliance my district partner and I are forming are good with traps. Would you like to become another member," Isabel asked, crossing her fingers for luck in her pocket.

Nikola was silent for bit, before he replied with, "Tributes in alliances tend to live a little bit longer in the Games. I would love to become a member of your alliance."

Isabel breathed a sigh of relief. As Nikola finished up with his trap she said, " Come on. Let's meet the others."

* * *

Tylara smiled as all five 18 year olds sat at a table together. They complimented each other fairly well.

Damon and Rose could manage the close quarters fighting. Thomas and Rose knew edible plants. All five of them could hunt, some better than others, and with different methods. Isabel and Thomas could fight from a distance, with throwing knives for Isabel and a bow and arrows for Thomas. Both had been avoiding those, saving those for the private sessions. All of them were good at stealth, with oddly Isabel doing the best. Thomas was the best of the group at camouflage. Then there was Nikola and his traps, which could be used for many different things.

However, they each had their disadvantages. Isabel had her nine month belly to work around. She also could go into labor at any time. Damon was protective of her, though that wasn't a distraction per se, but that was something that could be taken advantage of. Nikola was good at traps, but would be absolutely useless in a direct combat situation. Haymitch had shared with her, his concerns as to whether Thomas would be able to kill, even to defend himself. Rose could be baited by the Careers.

 _"The second day of training went well. The Careers did not escalate their behavior beyond verbal abuse. Let's be thankful for small favors,"_ Tylara thought as she went back up to the apartment.

* * *

Isabel was pleased that the second day had gone much better than the first one.

Just like the day before, as soon as Isabel got to the bathroom, she stripped all her clothes off. However, unlike the day before, her feet were too sore to stand in the shower.

 _"I'll take a bath. But not too hot,"_ Isabel thought as she remembered that in her condition, very hot baths were a bad idea.

Isabel got into the tub carefully. It was a big tub, something Jade had called a Jacuzzi. The main thing Isabel liked about it was that due to it being big, she did not have to try and wedge herself into a smaller tub.

She basked in the warm water as it came up to her belly. No sooner had the water come up over it, her little one started moving around as much as he or she could. But that didn't distract her from the warm water.

"Ahhh," was her next thought as she laid back in the Jacuzzi seat.

The baby of course chose that time to start kicking his or her little feet as if for dancing. Rolling her eyes, Isabel said,

"Okay, since you're obviously not going to let me rest, I'll tell you about my day. Your Uncle Damon and I have three allies now. The one we got today is Nikola. He's very good at traps, which should keep us well fed among other things. Then there's Thomas, who's going to help me with you when the time comes. Thirdly, there's Rose, she's very good at plants, and is wicked good with her scythe!"

As she was talking, Isabel had decided she would try and float on her back in the Jacuzzi.

 _"It's certainly big enough, even for me, to float around with ease,"_ Isabel thought to herself.

Isabel was quite surprised when she saw that she was actually able to float, even if she was rather low in the water.

For a while, she just floated. Her baby at the moment seemed soothed by the warm water.

When the water began to get cold, Isabel decided she wanted to get out.

Very carefully, she let the water out, then used a bar to lever herself out of the tub.

The bath had relaxed her considerably. Isabel put on an oversize t-shirt, climbed into bed and fell asleep.

* * *

Even though she had fallen asleep quickly, Isabel had need to get up through the night to either change position or go to the bathroom since the baby was constantly sitting on her bladder.

Early in the third trimester, Isabel had learned the hard way that sleeping on her back was most unwise. It was hard for her to breath and that position seemed to make her baby press on her bladder all the more.

She was soundly sleeping when she woke up for the third day of training to a rather sharp kick.

"You little devil, that was my liver" Isabel hissed. "One of these days, you and I are going to have a chat about your manners," she continued as she rolled out of bed for the final day of training.

The morning was devoted for review for Isabel, Damon, Thomas, Rose, and Nikola. They wanted to be as prepared as possible.

Everything was going smoothly. There was little talking amongst the tributes as most were nervous as to what the afternoon would bring.

Isabel had seen the Gamemakers watching her throughout the days of training. It seemed that they watched every move she made, her quick trips to the bathroom, her waddling gait, and her leaning back posture to accommodate her bulbous belly, which preceded her every time she entered a room.

 _"Sizing up my coffin already, are you? Don't be so sure about that,"_ Isabel mentally snarled.

The baby stirred a bit. Isabel rubbed where she knew where her little one was located.

"Are you alright Isabel," Rose asked as she came level with her.

"I'm okay, Rose. Nervous about the private sessions though," Isabel replied with a small smile.

"There's been one good thing about today's training so far," Rose remarked.

"What's that," Isabel wondered.

"The Careers have mostly left you alone today."

Isabel had noticed that and was mainly pleased with it. But it also made her nervous.

"They're probably saving their savagery now for the Games," she replied before saying, "I'm going to go use the bathroom before lunch."

* * *

Soon after lunch finished up, Auric from 1 was called into his private session.

The whole group, but especially Isabel, was thrilled when they noticed that the Careers did not return after their private sessions.

There had been some final bits of verbal abuse from them, primarily from the tributes from 1 and 4. However, Mirena Blackstone from 4 decided to take it further. As she left for her own session, Mirena was facing Isabel. She drew a circle around her belly and an X across it with an evil smile.

Isabel felt the blood drain from her face and nausea rise in her throat.

"That was revolting," Nikola commented with a shudder after the sandy haired girl left.

"We need to figure out which Careers we need to deal with first," Rose declared. They did not have to whisper any more since the Careers were now all gone.

"I'd like Mirena to be dealt with, but we can't fight them in the open. We'll have to use trickery to topple them," Isabel murmured as she rubbed her belly.

"Fighting the Careers in the open amounts to suicide," Thomas's voice was slightly muffled due to the fact that he was resting his head on top of his arms on the table.

"A fight in the open would have to be something of last resort," Nikola and Damon accidentally said in stereo.

Before any of them could say anything else, Nikola was called.

"Good luck," Damon called out to the skinnier boy.

"I'm going to need it."

* * *

As the afternoon wore on, the number of tributes whittled down. Some sessions seemed longer than others. All of the sudden it seemed, Damon's name was called.

The other three members of the alliance wished him luck. Isabel got up to give him as much of a hug as she was able.

"I'll see you back at the apartment Izzy," Damon said with a slight smile.

Isabel nodded. She was feeling to nauseous/nervous to speak.

Rose and Thomas sensed her desire to stay quiet, and started to play a game of checkers while she watched.

 _"I know I'm going to be utilizing my talent for throwing knives as my main way of impressing the judges. But what else can I do? I could perhaps show my steath, and then end with my limited trapping ability,"_ Isabel mused to herself while she watched the game, and waited for her turn.

Sooner than she would have liked, Isabel heard her name called. Thomas and Rose both said "Good luck" at the same time. Again this was an accident.

"Thank you," Isabel replied. And as she waddled to the door, she thought,

 _"Here goes nothing."_

* * *

When she entered the room, Isabel took in what weapons were available to her. There was a whole plethora of them.

There were swords of all sizes, spears of all lengths, and many other weapons she did not recognize.

Isabel knew that the eyes of the judges were on her, despite the lateness of the hour.

She picked up a throwing knife and tested its heft. Upon deciding she liked it, Isabel took a few more of a similar type and took up her stance.

In rapid succession, Isabel threw all four knives, and they all hit the same place on the dummies: right in the middle of the throat.

 _"If some weren't looking at me, they certainly are now,"_ Isabel thought with a grin.

She then decided to go and show what she'd learned at the stealth station. It didn't go too badly.

Isabel felt that she was nearing the end of her energy store. She made up some rope traps, and then used dummies to trigger them.

A short time after that, a Gamemaker called out, "You can leave, Miss Storm."

Isabel waddled to the door. On the other side was Tylara.

"Are we going back to the apartment," she asked. Isabel was bone tired. She fought the urge to rub her eyes. And failed miserably.

"Yes. You can get some sleep before the training scores are shown," Tylara replied before asking, "How's the baby doing?"

"Right now, hiccupping. The little one was quiet during the training session."

"Speaking of the session, how did it go," Tylara asked as they got into a cart that would take them back to the elevators.

"I did my best, that's all I could have done," Isabel replied as she rubbed her belly.

"That's all anyone expects of you."

* * *

Isabel actually managed to sleep for three hours before waking up to make a beeline to the bathroom.

After getting back from it, Isabel decided to change her shirt from a grey one, to a deep blue one.

The baby squirmed a bit inside her.

"No bath yet little one. That'll be a bit later," Isabel replied as she rubbed the small of her back.

She then thought, _"Though I would really like one in that Jacuzzi at the moment!"_

Before Isabel could even make another move towards the bathroom, there was a knock on the door which startled her.

"Who's there," she asked.

"Izzy, it's me. Tylara says it's time for dinner and for the training scores," Damon replied through the door.

"I'll be right there, give me a moment," Isabel said as she straightened her clothes.

Shortly after that, Isabel and Damon were walking down to the living area together.

* * *

Dinner was delicious. Once she saw it, Isabel had moved straight towards one of her favorite dishes: noodles with seasoned tomato sauce on top, and garlicky breadsticks.

This time, Isabel took care to portion her meal more carefully.

Soon after everyone sat down to eat, Jade turned on the TV.

The scores for 1 were shown first, with Auric's score being a 9, Serena's an 8.

"Not too surprising, Careers typically score in the 8-10 range," Jade commented.

The pair from two popped up moments later. Achilles got a rare 11, with Freya getting a 10.

Tylara saw the completely ashen faces of her tributes and said, "High scores don't mean everything. In the past four Games, a tribute from a Career district has only won once."

The pair from 3 didn't warrant much attention. Isabel gulped when she saw Mirena's 9 and Trident's 8.

"She won't touch you. Not if I have anything to say about it," Damon snarled. He had told Tylara about the incident with Mirena before she'd left for her training session. Even though Tylara had told him not to worry, he could tell that she was worried.

When 5 came up, Damon and Isabel paid a little more attention, as a member from their alliance was from 5.

As they saw that Nikola had pulled a 6, Isabel felt pleased that the member of the alliance she'd brought in, had acquitted himself well.

Districts 6-9 weren't much to look at. Only the tributes from District 7 scored above a five.

When they got to District 10, Isabel was holding Damon's hand so tightly, that it was starting to tingle. Damon didn't complain. He knew she was nervous.

Damon came up with an 8.

"Well done Damon, that's a very good score for anybody, especially someone from an outer district," Tylara said.

"I nearly got myself with the whip," Damon muttered. Isabel had given him a hug as his score was shown. And she'd let his hand go with a "Sorry."

"It's alright Izzy. I know you're nervous," he replied.

"What matters is that you didn't get yourself," Tylara remarked back.

Before Damon could say anything else, Isabel's score came up. She had gotten a 7.

"A seven is usually seen as average, but given your condition, that's fantastic," Jade squealed.

"Very well done Isabel," Tylara said with a small smile.

The baby was wriggling in the excitement.

After everyone had calmed down (Jade had paused the program), they went back to the show. The last two districts had allies in them, and everyone wanted to know Rose and Thomas's scores.

Thomas got a 7 and Rose wound up with an 8.

"Looks like your choices in allies were sound," Tylara commented.

"Yes we did," Isabel replied as she tried to stifle a yawn.

"Time for bed," said an undeceived Tylara. "Tomorrow's a big day. You have to work with Jade and I during the morning, then we'll turn you over to Antonio, Octavia, and the prep teams. The interviews are tomorrow," Tylara said as she ushered her tributes to their rooms.

As Isabel crawled into bed, she thought,

 _"Please, whomever is listening, just let my interview dress be decent!"_

* * *

As it turned out, the work with Tylara and Jade was rather easy. The interview angles had been easy to come up with for the two of them: A young mother with something extra to fight for was Isabel's angle. Damon's angle was that of the protector.

To Isabel, Tylara said, "You need to rustle up as much sympathy for yourself as possible. No one likes the possibility of a pregnant girl getting hurt. If they ask about Erik, mention how much you miss him, even mention his suspicious death, if needs be. Talk about the baby and how much you want to hold your little one in your arms."

Isabel nodded.

To Damon, Tylara instructed, "You're the protector. Tell them of your oath to your best friend. How you are willing to do anything to protect her. Mention the coin flip with your brother. Also, be prepared for being asked if you're in love with Isabel."

 _"I have the perfect answer for that question,"_ Damon thought with a grim smile on his face.

"Now, go onto the stylists. Jade and I will see you two before the interviews start.

* * *

 _"The stylists and the prep teams weren't kidding when they said they were going to be doing a lot,"_ Isabel thought to herself.

Domitia, Esmerelda, and Vothan had been working on her whole body all afternoon. Right now, they were redoing both sets of nails.

Since she'd been off her feet most of the afternoon, that meant her baby was moving. A lot. The prep team had been very understanding, letting her go to the bathroom as she needed to. During that afternoon, when the baby wasn't pressing on her back or wriggling, he or she was sitting on her bladder.

Isabel had kept her water drinking to a minimum, so the team could work.

She'd also used the time to think about her interview dress.

 _"How could I possibly look good in anything at the moment? Most of the other girl's dresses are going to be flattering, how can mine possibly be flattering,"_ Isabel thought as she fought back tears. She didn't want the prep team to see her crying.

She just let the prep team flit around her a while longer, rubbing her belly the whole time, which soothed her.

"There. All done my dear. It's time for Antonio to come in," Esmerelda said.

Isabel got up from her chair to stretch her legs. For the first time since the morning of the Reaping, Isabel looked in a mirror.

Her face was still puffy, and likely would be until she gave birth. Her hair was still its natural mahogany red. The prep team would be doing her hair once she got into her dress. She thought

 _"It isn't a crime to want to look good, even with a nine month belly greeting the world before they even see my face."_

Isabel also loved that her blue eyes gleamed with a steely determination.

She then looked to her breasts. Before the pregnancy, she had barely been a B cup. Now, she was well into a C cup and could tell that her breasts were still growing and likely would until the birth.

Before Isabel could think any further on the matter, there was a knock on the door before it opened. It was Antonio holding a garment bag. Vothan was there as well, holding a box that likely contained her shoes for the night.

"I think you will like the dress I have for you. It will bring out your eyes," Antonio started with a smile.

"I'm sure I will," Isabel replied.

"Close your eyes and put your arms over your head please," Antonio instructed.

Isabel felt something silky smooth fall over her skin. Part of the dress stopped at her bump, then flowed down around her ankles.

While her eyes were still closed, she felt laces being tied at her back. They grew tighter across her belly. Most likely to emphasize it even more.

 _"Not that it needs any more emphasis,"_ Isabel thought as she put her arms down.

While her eyes were still closed, she was maneuvered to a chair to put on the sandals that went with her outfit. After they were on, Antonio helped her up.

"You can open your eyes now, Isabel."

When she did, what she saw pleased her: A blue silk halter dress with a bright silver band of silk for the halter part. Even though it was tight around her belly, it was not uncomfortable. The skirt was flowy. On her feet were blue and silver lace up sandals.

Isabel had to smile a bit. The blue did indeed match her eyes. The dress made her look (and feel) good.

"Thank you Antonio."

"You're welcome. You'll shine bright. Now it is time to go and meet the others," Antonio said while he opened the door for her.

* * *

Isabel's hair was in a simple thick braid down her back now. At the last minute, it had been decided to keep her hair simple.

"Do you know what Damon is wearing for the interviews," she asked Antonio as he'd finished up the braid.

"I've seen a few drawings Octavia has, but I'm not sure which one she went with," he replied.

Isabel was sitting in a comfy chair while she was waiting for her friend to come out. Her mind was on the interview.

 _"Okay, all I have to do is drum up sympathy for myself and my child before an audience. Now is not the time to get stage fright,"_ she thought.

Before she had any further thoughts on the matter, Damon entered the room in his outfit. They'd gone with the cowboy look again. This time it was an all white outfit, with fringe on the sleeves of the jacket.

"You look good, old friend," Isabel said as she got to her feet.

"So do you, how's the baby," Damon asked in reply.

"Seems to be alright at the moment. He or she gets more active at night," Isabel remarked while she was rubbing the small of her back.

Damon knelt before her belly saying, "Hey little one. Let your mom get some sleep tonight!"

Isabel could not help but smile at Damon's antics.

As she opened her mouth to reply, Tylara interrupted them.

"It's time to go to the interviews."

* * *

 _"Okay, at least District 10 isn't dead last. I still have to listen to all of the other tributes before me talk,"_ Isabel thought as she sat waiting for her turn with Ceasar Flickerman.

From what she'd seen in previous Hunger Games, Flickerman did his best to make every tribute look good.

Unsurprisingly, the Careers had been coached well. They all bantered with Ceasar easily. Outside of those interviews, Isabel only planned on listening to those in her alliance.

However, it seemed that Trident felt that the turtle soup reference could still be made.

"The first thing _I_ want when I get home is a nice big bowl of turtle soup," the boy had remarked.

Damon had squeezed her hand at that. And as he'd walked back to his chair, Trident had mimed eating soup.

Nikola's interview was alright. While he was not overly comfortable, he still talked with Ceasar easily.

The next districts were not of much interest after Nikola. The Morphlings from 6 barely said a word at all, Isabel could tell that they were coming down off a high.

All too soon, she heard her name being called.

Damon gave her a hand squeeze and a nod. Isabel then waddled up to the interview area.

* * *

"This must be quite the wild ride for you Miss Storm," Ceasar began.

"That it has been Ceasar. I've had a lot on my plate recently," Isabel replied tightly.

"I can certainly see that," Ceasar said flicking a glance at her belly with a smile, before asking, "Do you know what you're having, Miss Storm?"

While she rubbed her distended belly, Isabel felt almost at ease with Ceasar. She replied with a smile, "I don't know what I'm having, Ceasar. All along, I've wanted it to be a surprise when the little one comes."

"What does the father have to say about that?"

 _"You knew this would likely come up. Keep it together Isabel,"_ she thought before replying, "Erik really hasn't had much to say on the subject. He's been dead since shortly after I found out I was pregnant." She could feel the tears beginning to fall.

There were murmurs of sympathy in the crowd. Ceasar asked, "What happened to him?"

"He died in what was supposedly a ranching "accident"," she answered while wiping the tears from her cheeks.

Determined to get the topic off of Erik, Isabel asked, "Would you like to feel where the baby is?"

"Are you sure, Miss Storm," Ceasar asked, genuinely surprised.

After she nodded her assent, Ceasar put his hand on her belly. As she moved it, Isabel said, "The little one is usually more active at night."

Sure enough, a short time later, Isabel was rewarded with a kick and roll that was obvious through her dress.

There was a collective "Aww" from the crowd. She had a feeling that her interview time was coming to a close, and she had one more thing to say: "I have more to fight for. Don't count me out just yet."

"I certainly won't be" Ceasar replied.

Isabel waddled back to her seat. it was time for Damon's interview.

* * *

Isabel spent the early part of Damon's interview trying to get reacquainted with her seat. She'd finally been able to pay attention again when Ceasar said,

"We all know that you volunteered to protect Isabel. You've also told us about your coin toss with your brother, right?"

"We couldn't both go so we had to decide somehow," Damon replied with a smirk.

"Are you in love with her?"

Isabel and Damon had both been warned that he'd likely be asked that question. However, Isabel wasn't prepared for Damon's reply.

"Oh I love her. But I'm not *in* love with her. That would be my brother James."

 _"What did Damon just say?"_

* * *

Back in District 10...

James Martell could feel his face burning like the surface of the sun as his 20 minutes older than him brother dropped one of James's biggest secrets to all of Panem.

Ignoring the questioning looks from his parents and younger sister, James got up to leave the room for a bit.

Once he got to the outside porch, James thought,

 _"Damon, if you get out of this, I'm gonna kill you!"_

* * *

Damon's interview ended shortly after that particular bomb drop. Isabel hadn't looked at him since his remark in regard to James.

"I'll tell you more about James when we get back to the apartment," Damon whispered.

* * *

The moment they got back to the apartment, Isabel rounded on Damon asking, "How long?"

He could tell that Isabel was not in the mood for word games. Damon began with, "I don't know how long James has been in love with you. I'm pretty sure it's been for a while. I do know that shortly before you began dating Erik 3 years ago, he was trying to get up the courage to ask you out. From what he told me a year later, he was happy that you were happy."

Isabel chewed at her lower lip. As if she didn't have enough to think about tonight!

Before she could reply, Tylara came into the room and said, "Time for bed."

* * *

Isabel knew the moment that she stepped into her bedroom, that sleep would not come easy to her. Especially with her mind going a mile a minute.

She was extremely thankful that her dress was easy to remove on her own. The laces untied easily, and soon she was out of her dress. Isabel's shoes, while they were laced, had a discreet Velcro edge so that she could toe them off.

Once naked, she went straight to the bathroom for a soak in the Jacuzzi. She was sore all over.

When she got out, Isabel waddled over to the closet to program her pajamas. She decided to go with an oversize button up black and purple top. It was big enough to button up over her belly if she so desired.

Isabel tried to get comfortable in her bed. But her mind would not allow her even to think about resting.

She took a glance at the cushioned window seat. With a sigh, she rolled out of bed and waddled over.

After a few minutes spent getting comfortable, Isabel began to rub her belly in silence. A few moments after that, she unbuttoned her shirt to just above her belly. She wanted to feel the kicking through only her skin.

For a while longer, Isabel rubbed her belly in silence still, before saying, "First I'm going to apologize to you for the conditions you'll likely be born in. Who knows what the arena will be like. If we're lucky, there will be a tarp between you and the ground when you're born."

She could feel the tears coming. Isabel did not fight them.

"I wish your daddy was here. He was nervous when he first found out about you, but was happy. Unfortunately he got taken from us, shortly after you became common knowledge," Isabel could feel the tears coming down her cheeks.

Then a different thought crossed her mind: _"What am I going to do about James? From what little Damon told me, he's been carrying a torch for me for years. If by some miracle, I make it out of this alive, I'm going to have to handle that situation carefully."_ Isabel got up to get a bottle of water before heading back to the window seat.

Isabel watched her baby kick and roll inside her, occasionally pressing against a little foot or hand.

As the night wore on, Isabel finally felt herself begin to calm down enough to the point where she decided to try and sleep. Even though the Games started at ten in the morning, she would have to get up early to be flown out to the arena.

Isabel's last conscious thought as she fell asleep, was of her holding her baby.

* * *

 **A/N 2: That was quite a ride. I'd love to hear what you think of it! SSD**


	6. Making Out Like Bandits

**Chapter VI: Making Out Like Bandits**

 **A/N: Here's chapter 6 of Breath of Life. Thanks go to TheReaper94 again. He's helped a lot. This chapter starts the Games. And the way the deaths are listed are from his Hunger Games fic, Year by Year. Thank you also to Alexandria-likethecityinEgypt. Enjoy the story! SSD**

* * *

The morning came too soon. Isabel was surprised to see that it was Antonio who had come to wake her up.

She asked, "Where's Tylara?"

"She's at the Games HQ. Jade and her worked through the night and got up early. Likely signing sponsors," Antonio replied as he handed her a shift and turned around as she put it on.

"Do Damon and I have sponsors," Isabel queried.

"I would be very surprised if you did not. You, your child, and Damon were and are very sympathetic to the crowds. Come on. It's time to head to the roof to get on the hovercraft." Antonio held the door for her.

Isabel was silent on the way up to the roof. There had been no time to shower at the apartment. That was going to have to wait until she got to the catacombs under the arena. That area was called the Stockyards in the districts.

Once they got to the roof, she took a look around. There was no hovercraft in sight.

As she turned to ask where it was, the hovercraft just popped into view. A ladder came down from it.

Isabel waddled up to it, and managed to get her hands and feet onto the ladder. All of the sudden, she was stuck to the ladder and pulled up into the hovercraft.

There was a young woman with a syringe, who said, "This is just your tracker, Isabel. Please stay still."

 _"I really can't move right now,"_ Isabel thought ruefully.

Soon after the injection was finished, she became unstuck from the ladder. Isabel clambered off of it.

The ladder went back down for Antonio. Once he was inside, the hovercraft took off.

An unfamiliar Avox led them to a room with an array of food.

Though she did not feel overly hungry, Isabel got a plate, knowing that food could become pretty scarce in the arena.

After she finished filling the plate, Isabel went and sat down by a window seat of the hovercraft and looked out of it.

Antonio sat across form her, also eating his breakfast in silence. He could tell that she didn't want to talk at the moment.

Her baby was kicking at the moment.

 _"Will my little one ever see the light of day,"_ Isabel wondered, struggling to keep the tears in.

Sensing her anxiety, the baby wriggled inside her. She pressed back against the feet.

"There will be a doctor there to check you over and do an ultrasound on the baby," Antonio murmured about half an hour into the flight.

Isabel nodded. She really didn't feel like opening her mouth at the moment. She had hoped to see Damon before the Games started, but that was not to be.

She rested her arms on top of her belly and looked out the window. But she didn't really see anything.

* * *

Antonio watched the young woman gaze out the window. He could not help but feel sorry for her. She probably felt as if the whole world was against her. Tylara had mentioned to him that her reaping may have been rigged by the district mayor.

 _"Little does she know, many in Panem are on her side,"_ Antonio thought.

Tributes were kept isolated from the news, outside the bubble of the Games. So Isabel would not know that there were silent protests going on at her competing in the Games. In a few districts, there was more overt unrest than others. Districts 12 (no surprises there), 11, 7, 3, and 5 were being the most overt. Especially among mothers. They weren't doing anything that would require the sending in of troops, but Antonio knew that could change suddenly.

Especially if Isabel died in the bloodbath.

* * *

Isabel started in her seat when the covers came down on the windows.

"We're getting close to the arena aren't we," she asked Antonio.

"Correct. They don't want any tributes to see what the arena looks like beforehand."

A few moments later, the flight stopped. This time a ramp opened.

Isabel waddled down the ramp. She thought, _"I'm in the Catacombs. Or at least that's what they call them in the Capitol. Everywhere else in Panem, they call this place the Stockyards. Where animals go for the slaughter."_

She straightened the shift over her belly.

"Come on. Let's go to your Launch Room. The doctor will be waiting," Antonio said as he held out his arm for her.

Isabel took it. She wanted to get the appointment done and over with.

* * *

 _"No matter how many times that goop gets put on me, I always jump at how cold it is,"_ Isabel thought as she was prepped for what was likely going to be her last ultrasound.

In no time at all, Doctor LaRoche found the baby. At this point, it was impossible not to

"It still looks like you've got a healthy little one in there. Still active I hope," the doctor asked.

"Very much so. My nerves weren't the only reason I had trouble sleeping last night," Isabel replied as she touched the screen.

"The baby is also in position for birth, which could happen at any time, Miss Storm," the man warned.

"I am all too aware of that," Isabel muttered darkly before asking, "Is there anything else?"

"Not really. Even if you wanted to know what you are having, your little one's legs are crossed." The doctor got up out of his chair. Isabel quickly wiped the goop off.

"Good luck to you Miss Storm," the doctor said as he left.

To Antonio, she said, "I'm going to go shower. That goop always makes me feel slimy."

* * *

Isabel's shower was quick and hot. When she came out with a robe on, the grey eyed Avox was there with her bag of clothes. She smiled saying,

"It's nice to see you again."

The Avox smiled back. It seemed to be a genuine one. He mimed something again. Isabel quickly surmised that he wanted to write something down.

After giving him a notepad, she asked Antonio, "Will he get into trouble for writing me a message?"

"Likely, it will depend on the message," he replied.

Thankfully the Avox finished writing, and had handed the notepad back to her. On it, was the simple message, "Good Luck."

"Thank you," she replied as the Avox bowed and left.

"Now, lets see what I'm wearing," Isabel said to Antonio.

* * *

About 15 minutes later, Isabel took a final look in the mirror in her launch room.

Looking from the bottom up, she had black treaded books on her feet, which were a half size bigger to accommodate swelling. The pants were also black, and seemed to be of the cargo variety with many pockets. Isabel's shirt was a dark green t-shirt. The socks were also a dark green. The jacked was a mottled grey-green, lightweight, but warm. Her undergarments were nothing fancy, which pleased her.

"Your bra will give you all the support you need up there. Even if your breasts grow more," Antonio mentioned as she'd put her shirt on after him helping her with the bra.

"I cannot imagine them growing any more. They are getting uncomfortable," Isabel muttered.

"Would you like something more to eat," Antonio asked.

Isabel waddled over to the food table and got some bacon, eggs, and water. She knew it was getting close to the time for the Games to start.

 _"Will I die in the arena? Will my baby be cut out of me like some trophy for a bloodthirsty career,"_ Isabel wondered as she rubbed her hands over her belly. The baby kicked at her hands in response.

Before she could say anything aloud, the announcement came that it was time for the tributes to get onto their launch plates.

Isabel walked over to the cylinder. Antonio helped her up.

"Stay alive. And good luck," her stylist whispered to her.

She nodded her thanks.

Moments later, Isabel was heading up into the arena, to make her date with destiny.

* * *

Tributes had to wait 60 seconds to leave their stands, or they would be blown sky high. Isabel took the time to look around the arena.

Mountains with snow surrounded the arena. On the other side of the arena from her, Isabel could see a lake. There was a heavily wooded pine forest at her back.

When Isabel saw Rose to her immediate right, she caught the dark skinned girl's eye and nodded towards the woods. Rose nodded back: As soon as the bell went off, the two of them would break for the woods while the boys would book it to the Cornucopia.

Before she could think any further, the bell went off. Isabel and Rose booked it into the woods.

* * *

Of the 24 tributes in the arena, all but 2 ran for the cornucopia. Some left more quickly than others.

However, before she could make a few steps, Clara Watt got in the way of Trident. He dispatched her quickly with a karate chop to the throat.

 _Clara Watt, 24th Place, District 5, Trident Hook, karate chop to throat. Bloodbath_

Achilles picked up a hatchet in the outside rim of the Cornucopia. In rapid succession he killed two tributes, both underfed 14 year olds.

 _Mina Powers, 23rd Place, District 3, Achilles Corvin, hatchet to head. Bloodbath_

 _Connor Reid, 22nd Place, District 11, Achilles Corvin, throat slit. Bloodbath_

Discarding the hatchet, Achilles ran towards the Cornucopia. Trident was already well on his way there.

* * *

It was his job to get the bulk of the food and then get the hell out. Thomas and Damon would be getting the medical supplies and weapons.

On his run up to the Cornucopia, Nikola had picked up a can of pepper spray.

Once he got there, Nikola found two sleds of food that looked perfect.

"Not so fast, 5. That food belongs to us," one of the two Career boys growled.

As they advanced on him, Nikola flicked the switch on the can and sprayed. The pepper spray got both boys in the eyes.

Nikola scurried away with the two sleds towards the tree line to the north where he'd seen the two girls go as Achilles and Trident howled in agony.

* * *

As the boy from 5 got away, Serena finally made her first kill of the Games, with a small axe.

 _Greta Junker, 21st Place, District 6, Serena Emerald, head bashed in. Bloodbath_

Freya was the first Career to get a weapon besides a hatchet or axe. She picked up a one sided, curved sword, and gave the girl from 8 a quick death.

 _Cara Weaver, 20th Place, District 8, Freya Stone, throat sliced. Bloodbath_

* * *

Thomas just looked at the two boys writhing in agony on the ground as he grabbed two sleds with medical and camping supplies.

As he ran off he thought, _"I saw the girls run into the forest to the north. That's where Nikola went, I'll follow."_

* * *

To make his first kill of the games, Auric did not even bother with a weapon. He just ran up, got a hold of the scrawny, Morphling addicted boy from 6 and snapped his neck with ease.

 _Adam Hammett, 19th Place, District 6, Auric Jerome, snapped neck. Bloodbath_

He took a look around. Mirena had grabbed the rail thin girl from 12, and despite the girl's struggles, brought her to her knees, then forced her head under the water of the lake.

A few minutes later, the girl's body went limp. Mirena left the body where it lay.

 _Jenna Foster, 18th Place, District 12, Mirena Blackstone, drowning. Bloodbath_

* * *

Damon had seen all the others run into the forest before he'd gotten to the Cornucopia.

 _"It's up to me to get the weapons,"_ he thought.

He stepped over Achilles and Trident easily. They were still in agony.

Damon grabbed a bow and a quiver of arrows for Thomas, a scythe for Rose, 2 bags of things to be made into traps for Nikola, along with his whip and machete. He needed to get the Hell out of there before the Careers got him.

He pushed another tribute out of his way while he was running. He didn't stop to look back.

* * *

After being shoved to the ground, the boy from 8 got up. Before he could move again, a throwing star embedded itself into his skull after being thrown.

 _Aron Larson, 17th Place, District 8, Freya Stone, throwing star to the head. Bloodbath_

* * *

The Careers moved away from the bodies. Freya helped her district partner to the lake as Mirena did the same for Trident.

Freya asked, "Who got you?"

"The skinny boy from 5. He got me with some pepper spray he found. He also got Trident as well. He got away with a bunch of food," Achilles replied as splashed his eyes to clean them out.

Auric and Selene came up, with grim looks on their faces. Serena said, "The medical supplies took a hit. So did the camping supplies."

"I almost got the boy from 10. But he pushed the boy from 8 into the path," Freya muttered.

"We've done enough for today. Let's just rest," Trident said to the group as he finished up flushing out his eyes.

* * *

Isabel and Rose were sitting by a creek, when the cannons finally began to go off.

"That's eight dead. We'll have to wait and see if any of our boys are among that number," Isabel said as she laid her arms over the top of her belly.

About fifteen minutes later, they were rewarded with Nikola crashing through the underbrush with his two very full sleds of food.

"Nice work," Rose said as both she and Isabel looked at the booty.

"How'd you get away with all that," Isabel asked as she took her look at the sleds.

"Sprayed two Careers in their eyes with pepper spray. They were howling in agony," Nikola replied as he got a bag of jerky out of one of the sleds before flopping down on the ground.

After about a half an hour of passing the bag around, they heard a whistling tune. Isabel got to her feet. There was only one other person in the arena who knew that little ditty besides her.

She nearly knocked Damon to the ground as she hugged him mumbling, "I'm so happy you're alive!"

"I'm glad that I'm alive too," Damon replied as he hugged her back. After they broke the hug, Damon turned to the others. His eyes went wide when he saw the two sleds of food.

"I too come bearing gifts," he grinned.

First he put the two bags of trap equipment at Nikola's feet. Damon then handed the switchblade scythe to Rose, who got up, moved away, and swung the blade free.

"Oooh, this I like," Rose grinned.

"I also have Thomas's bow and arrows for him, should he show up. I thought I saw him make it though," Damon said as he sat down and took a few beef jerky bits from the bag.

"What about knives for me," Isabel asked as she sat down next to her friend.

"I didn't see any. I also wanted to get the hell out of there. The Careers were starting to regroup," he answered.

Isabel nodded. While she wasn't thrilled about not having weapons, she preferred Damon to be alive.

The baby kicked in response to that thought, as if agreeing.

Thomas came about 15 minutes after that as they were getting up. He came in out of breath, dragging two sleds behind him.

Nikola grabbed a bottle of water and handed it to the former apprentice healer, who drank it greedily. Rose and Damon were filling the empty jugs of water from the stream and using iodine to purify it.

Once he got his voice back, Thomas said, "I have a sled of medical supplies. The other one is for camping."

"We need to find shelter and a place to camp," Isabel said. She was starting to feel tired.

"I saw a cave on my way here. It's near a river and seems to be sturdy enough," Nikola offered. The others

As Damon handed Thomas his bow and arrows, Isabel looked over the booty.

She said, "Well, it looks as if we made out like bandits."

* * *

Once they got to the cave and checked inside to make sure there were no unwanted guests, quintet began to breath easier.

One of the first things that were noticed on one of Thomas's sleds were foldable chairs.

Both Damon and Thomas took one look at Isabel and said in stereo, "You're sitting down and resting."

Isabel didn't argue. But she still wanted to be of some use.

"I will sit down and rest. But I want to sort through the supplies."

"Fair enough. We'll bring them to you, then you can decide where to put them," Damon conceded.

* * *

Two hours later and the sorting wasn't finished yet. The weapons had been the easiest, and had already been given to their respective users. Nikola had been set to start working on some basic traps.

The camping gear hadn't been _too_ bad to go through. In addition to enough foldable chairs for everyone, there empty jugs to fill with water, a two person tent, cooking tools, sleeping bags, blankets, and fire starting fuel.

"We have to be careful with fires. Don't want the Careers or other tributes coming near here," Rose remarked.

"I noticed that some of the food is self heating when activated. We'll worry more about fires when we get fresh meat. How are the traps coming Nikola," Isabel asked.

"They're coming along. I'll start helping with the " he replied.

A bit later, when Nikola had finished fashioning some basic traps, he also joined in on sorting of supplies.

Thomas had already claimed a rather large tarp for a medical area inside the cave.

As they were getting to the bottom of the medical supplies, Damon and Nikola had each grabbed a box. When they read what was in them, the two boys dropped them like they were radioactive.

"What was that for," Thomas asked as he walked back over to them. When he saw what the boxes were of, he said, disbelief clear in his tone, "You're in the Hunger Games, and you're acting weird over these?"

Isabel had gotten up from her seat for a moment to take a look at the boxes. She rolled her eyes when she saw that they were tampons.

"How can they possibly be repurposed," Nikola asked.

"We can still use them to soak up blood. Taking them apart for the padding would be useful," Rose stated. She'd rolled her eyes as well.

"That can be done later. Let's get back to work," Isabel said. "I want to get done before it gets dark."

* * *

Another two hours later, the sun had setting and they were finally finished with the sorting of the supplies. The food had taken a lot longer than anyone had anticipated.

Once the sun had completely set, the anthem started playing, and the deaths for the day were shown.

Isabel noticed Damon wince at the view of the boy from 8.

"What's wrong," she asked.

"I pushed him out of my way on the way into the forest. I didn't look back," her friend replied, not looking her in the eyes.

"You did not kill that boy, Damon. Do you understand me," Isabel said as she turned his head to face her.

After a few moments of holding her gaze, Damon nodded. But she had a feeling that this was not over for Damon.

A short time after the anthem ended, Thomas said, "I'll take the first watch. Rose, I'll wake you up."

At that, the others went inside the cave, to at least try and sleep.

* * *

 **A/N 2: And the first day of the 80th Hunger Games has ended. I can't wait to hear what you all think. TheReaper94 has a SYOT titled Here We Go Again. He needs tribute suggestions. A form can be found on his profile page. SSD**


	7. Stuck on You

**Chapter VII: Stuck on You**

 **A/N: Sorry about the long wait. Had some writer's block on this one. Decided the chapter was going to be too big, so I made some changes as to what happens in it. I apologize for one use of the f-word in the chapter by one of the Careers. Thanks go to alexandria-likethecityinegypt and TheReaper94 for their help. Again, the deaths are listed like in his story Year by Year. Enjoy the update, SSD!**

* * *

Even though she did not have a watch to stand, Isabel was awake anyway. She had to get up to either change position or go to the bathroom.

It was in the middle of Thomas's watch when she decided to go and talk to someone. It would likely help him stay away.

"So, any signs of uninvited guests Thomas," Isabel asked as she came level with him.

"Nope. A few animals have been curious, but no people. The watch has been very quiet," Thomas replied.

They sat in silence for a while before he asked, "Isabel, how are you feeling? No pain of any kind?"

"Just the pain in my feet. My breasts are sore as well. No new kind of pain. I'm not in labor at the present time," Isabel replied as she rested her arms on top of her belly.

"If your labor starts and you're alone for whatever reasons, don't eat or drink very much as it progresses. You can have small sips of water, but don't eat. You'll regret it," Thomas instructed.

She nodded in reply. The baby was kicking its feet and Isabel was pressing back in response.

"I have an idea. Why don't you take your camp chair and sleep in it sitting up? It might be more comfortable. You can use the sleeping bag as the blanket," Thomas suggested.

"It would certainly make it easier to get up and down," Isabel agreed before saying, "I'll go do that."

About five minutes later, Isabel was burrowing under the sleeping bag, drifting off.

* * *

Tylara had just gotten up from a nap that Haymitch had made her take. She would be taking the night shift of watching their tributes from Jay Ross, Nikola's mentor. Aras would be taking over in the morning.

Jay was a fellow last victor standing from a rebellious district. There had been no real proof connecting him to the rebellion. And the Capitol had not wanted to leave any district without a victor to mentor tributes. He had won the 47th Games, with an arena filled with tornados and various other natural disasters.

Tylara shook his shoulder to wake him up with a "Hey old man. I come bearing gifts," as she handed him a cup of tea.

The salt and pepper haired man took a few sips before saying, "It's been a quiet night. The Careers are at the Cornucopia, our group is at their cave. The other tributes are spread throughout the rest of the arena."

"Good to know. Now go get some sleep, you'll need it," Tylara instructed.

"I will. I have a feeling that Day 2 will be quiet," Jay said as he left.

* * *

As morning came, Isabel was the first to wake up. Nikola had drawn the last watch. She called out,

"Hey Nikola, it's morning!"

"That's good. Now we can all have breakfast together," the skinny boy said with a smile as he walked towards the opening of the cave.

Damon stirred first, mumbling, "It's morning isn't it?"

"Yes it is. Early bird gets the worm," Isabel nudged Damon's shoulder with her toe.

Rose was already up, out of her sleeping bag, and rolling it up. It was clear she was a morning person. Thomas was close behind her.

Once she finished, she asked, "So what's on the menu for today?"

Isabel took a look at the empty water jugs then said, "I'd like to get those filled up."

"Getting my traps set up is something I want to do. And not just the ones for food. I could use some help." Nikola said through his jerky.

"I can help you with that. At least in terms of protecting you while you're setting them up," Rose said.

"Good. I'll be staying with Isabel. Nikola, how long do you think it will take for you set up your traps," Damon asked.

"Most won't take too long. Though there is one that will take me several hours to set up," Nikola mentioned.

"A few _hours?_ What kind of trap is it," Thomas asked.

"I'll just say this. Whoever comes across it, will not have a good day," Nikola said with a bit of a grin.

"I bet you'll be glad for Rose's help with that one," Isabel said with a similar grin.

"I can do some hunting for fresh meat today," Thomas said while fingering his bow.

"We all have our work to do. Let's get going," Damon said.

* * *

The rest of the day went by fairly quickly. Damon and Isabel were collecting the water and using the water purifiers.

Damon noticed that his friend was gathering pieces of wood and putting them in a pile near her chair.

"What are you doing," Damon asked.

"Collecting wood. These pieces would look good if they were carved," she replied.

"You don't have anything to do that with," Damon replied, confusion clear in his voice.

"I don't have anything to carve with _yet_ ," Isabel said with a grin as she looked to the sky.

* * *

The others came back over the course of the day.

Thomas came back first. With a pair of rabbits in his hands.

"If we keep the fire low, we should be able to cook these into a nice stew," he said.

Rose and Nikola arrived back as the rabbit stew was finished cooking. The fire was quickly doused. They had some greens with them.

"I know for sure they aren't poisonous," Rose said as Thomas examined them closely.

"They should go well with the rabbit," the former trainee healer said with a smile.

"Did you get the traps done," Isabel asked from her seat by the fire.

"Yep. I even put a few traps close to the Cornucopia. The Careers definitely won't like them," Nikola replied as he took his bowl.

They ate in silence, savoring the tasty stew. There had been no deaths that day.

"The Careers must have been resting up today," Damon remarked.

"So there will likely be some deaths tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a busy day," Thomas said as he unrolled his sleeping bag.

"We'll need our rest. I'll take the first watch. Then I'll be waking you up Damon," Rose said as she grabbed her scythe and took up her watch position.

* * *

Day III

This was a day that the Cave alliance woke up quietly, so as to not make any more noise than strictly necessary.

"Patrolling the area would be a good idea. We don't want any nasty surprises," Isabel said.

"The only people we want getting nasty surprises are the Careers, and hopefully, they will get some," Nikola remarked as he thought of his favorite trap that he set.

"I'll be staying with you today, Isabel," Rose said with a small smile.

"If a cannon goes off, we'll come running. Provided of course, that cannon wasn't one of us dying," Damon drawled with some gallows humor.

"Just stay safe. All of you," Isabel murmured as they left.

The baby gave a kick visible through her shirt, punctuating that statement.

* * *

Most of the day was as quiet as the day before.

However towards the end of the afternoon, a cannon blast cleaved through the air.

Before either of the girls could speak, Thomas came running into the camp.

"Okay, you're alright. Have you seen Damon or Nikola," Isabel asked.

"Not since this morning when we left to patrol," Thomas replied. He was keeping an arrow knocked.

They waited for what felt like hours, but was likely only about 15-30 minutes. Nikola and Damon streaked into the camp from the southwest.

Isabel hugged Damon hard in greeting.

Rose asked, "Who's dead?"

"Not sure. We'll find out tonight," Nikola said.

* * *

30 minutes earlier...

The Career Pack was hunting. The day had been dry however. The other tributes seemed to be well hidden.

Achilles, Freya, Trident, Mirena, and Auric were the ones out hunting. Serena was guarding the Cornucopia.

"Where the hell is the turtle hiding? She shouldn't be this hard to find," Auric snarled.

"Her district partner seems to be hiding her well. He's quite protective of her," Freya remarked.

"We just need to figure out how to use his protectiveness of her to our advantage," Mirena said as she walked ahead.

"She's fat as all fuck. She'll give herself away eventually," Trident hissed. He had plans for Isabel Storm of District 10.

Achilles did not like Trident. He'd slept with one eye open both of the past two nights. So he said, "She's pregnant dumbass."

Not bothering to reply at all, Trident launched himself at Achilles and the boys began to wrestle. Freya and Auric just watched and did nothing.

Trident had just pulled a dagger from his boot and was about to slash at Achilles's throat when they all heard a piercing shriek ahead of them. It was only then that they noticed that Mirena was not with them.

Running ahead, the Careers saw an outline of a rectangular pit that had been concealed with great skill. Looking down into it, they Mirena in the pit with spikes in her chest and abdomen.

She'd been impaled by a rather clever trap. This was early in the Games for a Career tribute to die.

Mirena gurgled for a few moments, blood trickling out of her mouth before her eyes finally closed.

 _Mirena Blackstone, 16th Place, District 4, Nikola Coil, Impaled by trap, Day III_

Knowing that impalement was a slow death, Freya readied a throwing star.

"Don't waste the weapon," Trident said slowly before continuing "She's gone."

* * *

That night when Isabel saw Mirena's face in the sky, she felt some relief. The Career who had most directly threatened her and her child was now dead. But there were still five more Careers to get through.

* * *

 **A/N 2: 1 Career down. And there's already infighting between the Career pack. Where I picture the arena being is an area called Moraine Lake in Canada. It's also called the Valley of the 10 Peaks. So what did you all think of the chapter? Looking forward to seeing what you think! SSD**


	8. Time for Frostbite

**Chapter VIII: Time for Frostbite**

 **A/N: Okay, looks like I am back on a roll with this story. This takes place over the course of two days in the Hunger Games. Thanks go out to alexandria-likethecityinegypt and TheReaper94. They've helped a lot.**

* * *

 **Day IV**

* * *

Isabel was peering up at the sky. The clouds had been low and heavy looking all day.

"I have a really bad feeling about those clouds," Thomas said as he dragged a deer into the campground. It had been right by the campground so Thomas hadn't left Isabel alone.

"You mean those storm clouds," Isabel pointed at the clouds that were coming in from the northwest.

"Yes, them. They look like they could be clouds that bring a blizzard with them," Thomas replied.

"I've never seen snow before," Isabel mused as she pressed back at a kick.

Nikola came back, and like Thomas was eying the approaching clouds with considerable apprehension before saying, "We should get all of our stuff into the cave."

Shortly after that Damon and Rose came back from their patrols, Damon asked, "Why are you guys moving all the stuff inside?" He flicked a glance towards Isabel.

"We're moving the stuff into the cave. Nikola and Thomas think that a snow storm is coming. We need to get the stuff into the cave posthaste," she replied.

The group went to work. The Cave Alliance may not have been the strongest tributes, but you could say that they were all hard workers.

About an hour later, Rose commented, "We need to figure out a way to put a tarp over the cave opening and keeping it in place. Otherwise, we're going to have to go really deep into the cave so we aren't bothered by the cold."

No sooner had she finished that sentence, they all saw 2 boxes attached to a parachute. The boxes had the number 5 on it.

"Looks like you got your first gift, Nikola," Isabel said with a slight smile.

"Come on, let's see what you got," Damon urged excitedly.

Nikola picked up the note that was attached to the smaller of the two boxes.

 _Nice work with that trap. Here's some more trap supplies. Also the tarp in the bigger box should be big enough to cover that cave opening in the event of inclement weather. There are holes in the top for ventilation, so a fire can be used. Jay._

Nikola opened the large box. The tarp was not only big enough, it had holes in it so it could be augured into place. Also, it was camouflaged to suit the terrain.

* * *

Cedar Greene and Gwen Wood of District 7 also noticed the clouds. They also smelled the scent of approaching snow.

 _"Good thing we've got shelter, it's a small cave, but it will do,"_ Cedar thought.

"Time for us to hunker down," Gwen said as the snow began to fall.

* * *

Trident had never seen snow before. Being from District 4, the climate was too warm for it.

It was a good thing too, that they had the heated tents up and connected so they wouldn't even have to go outside.

All of the contents of the Cornucopia had been moved into one of the bigger tents.

"Wouldn't want our supplies to blow away in the storm," Achilles had muttered.

"This storm looks like it could last a while. We need to batten down the hatches," Freya said.

"I will be shocked if we don't get any nasty surprises during this storm," Serena said as she sharpened her blade.

* * *

The wind really was picking up. Thankfully the tarp had been easy to secure into place.

Rose, Damon, and Nikola were sound asleep. Isabel had just gotten back from using the bathroom.

One of the more convenient things they'd found in the cave was a cut seat of stone in the rock wall of the cave. It had an opening to an underground river, so it served as a functional toilet.

Isabel noticed that Thomas was fingering a blue and gold yarn bracelet.

She asked, "That's your token right?"

He nodded.

"Who made it for you?"

"My boyfriend Derrick made it," Thomas replied.

Isabel blinked. She hadn't been expecting that.

"Well, it's good work. How long have you two been together," she asked politely.

"A year and a half. Our families are good with it," he said back.

They listened to the wind howl for a while.

Thomas then asked, "How long were you and the father together?"

"Erik and I were together for nearly 3 years," Isabel replied tightly as she rested her arms on top of her belly.

Talking about Erik with anyone was still excruciating for her, but had gotten a little easier, especially with Damon, James, Mercedes, and her friend's families.

Remembering the good times was also becoming less painful.

With a yawn, Isabel said, "Good night, Thomas."

"Good night Isabel," the trainee healer replied.

* * *

 _"Cold. So cold."_

Those had been Will Carnegie's thought throughout the whole blizzard.

It was becoming hard to walk. His hands were black and blistered.

He fell to his knees, crawling for a short time, before coming to a stop.

Will thought he heard a cannon fire off amidst the howling wind.

 _"Who just died,"_ was his last coherent thought.

 _Will Carnegie, 15th Place, District 3, Hypothermia/Frostbite, Day IV_

* * *

 **Day V**

* * *

Damon was the first one awake. According to the watch on Isabel's wrist, it was roughly 9 in the morning. She was sleeping in her chair next to him. And was snoring slightly.

Rose and Thomas were sound asleep as well, and they were far away from the cave opening.

Nikola, on the other hand was sleeping near the opening.

Moments later, the boy stretched and sat up.

"Morning," the skinny boy greeted.

"Aren't you cold that close to the opening," Damon asked.

"The cold doesn't bother me much. My part of District 5 is on this old lake. Winters there are brutal," Nikola explained before continuing with, "I'm claustrophobic. So being confined in here is uncomfortable to say the least."

Damon peeped through the top of the tarp by getting onto a nearby ledge. It was still snowing. As he got down from the ledge, the other three woke up to an unearthly howl.

"What the *HELL* was that," Isabel asked as she sat up in the chair.

"I don't know and I really don't want to find out," Damon answered.

"Let's just hope that whatever made that stays far away from here," Rose commented as everyone got ready for breakfast.

* * *

They'd barely made it to shelter before the storm started, which was a small overhang of a cave.

"It's better than nothing," Lily had said several times.

 _"Barely better than nothing,"_ Rafe had thought several times in reply.

They had both drifted off to sleep, their fire burning bright.

Rafe woke up to a horrific howl and a scream.

 _Lily McCormack, 14th Place, District 9, mauled by Yeti Mutt, Day V_

He looked over and saw a huge, white, and furry bipedal animal in the process of mauling Lily. Rafe thought he saw an arm and a leg strewn about the area, with blood seeping off the limbs.

There was no chance to scream as a claw came toward him.

 _Rafe Holmes, 13th Place, District 9, mauled by Yeti Mutt, Day V_

* * *

Isabel looked up at the firing of another two cannons.

"That's three deaths since the storm started. Wonder how they died," Isabel speculated aloud.

"There's always frostbite and/or hypothermia," Thomas replied.

"Or maybe it was whatever made that howl," Rose commented.

"We'll probably find out later who died. The storm should be letting up soon. Standing watches again will become necessary," Damon said.

"Oh goody," Thomas drawled.

"The Careers have likely gotten more restive during the storm. They'll be spoiling for a fight," Nikola whispered.

"We're down to 12 tributes. From my recon at the Cornucopia two days ago, the Careers have made it a priority to find the trap maker that got Mirena," Rose said.

Everyone looked at Nikola. The silence was ominous.

"If they want me, they'll have to find me first. I've gotten good at camouflage while I'm out on patrol," Nikola said.

But they all knew that while he'd become good at camouflage, if the Careers wanted to find him, they likely would.

They all weren't complete utter idiots.

* * *

 **A/N 2: Well, this turned out to be a shorter chapter. I tried to make it longer, but it just wouldn't work out the way I wanted it to. Can't wait to hear what you all think of this one! SSD**

 **PS- MERRY CHRISTMAS!**


	9. Playing With Their Food

**Chapter IX: Playing With Their Food**

 **A/N: Here's day 6 of the 80th Hunger Games. I made some changes to my original plan for the chapter, so things took a little longer than I'd like in writing it. Thanks go to TheReaper94 and alexandria-likethecityinegypt for their help. The description of the 35th Games and arena comes from Reaper's Year By Year story with permission. There is some brutality from the Careers in this chapter. Enjoy the chapter! SSD**

* * *

 **Day VI**

* * *

Each year the Hunger Games plated out differently. And each victor or in one case victors, leaving their mark.

Ceasar thought of his first Hunger Games as Master of Ceremonies. He had only been 22 years old at the 35th Games.

The arena had been modeled after a District 12 mine. That year, the girl from 12 had scored unusually high in training. Most of the time, tributes from 12 were lucky to get a 5.

The Career Alliance had picked off the other tributes one by one, until they came across the male tribute from District 3 on the 11th day. Nets fell on the six Careers as they entered. After a few moments, the nets became electrified and cooked them all until they were dead.

That had been a 16 year old Beetee Latier.

The 46th Games also had an interesting arena: A meatpacking plant with rabid mutts thrown in for good measure. Those Games had lasted 2 and a half weeks, mostly with the tributes running away from the Mutts.

From the ashes of a second bloodbath finale, rose a 16 year old butcher's daughter from 10: Tylara Donovan with 5 kills.

The Second Quarter Quell had the districts sending in two boys and two girls. Like in the first Quarter Quell, the arena had been a deceptively innocent looking outdoor mountainous arena. Over these three week Games, there had been jaguar mutts that could leap great distances, EF-5 tornadoes, earthquakes that would register a 9 on the Ricter Scale, and ended near an erupting volcano.

That nailbiter of a finale had ended when the Capitol favorite girl from 1 threw an axe at the surviving tribute from 12 of all places. The boy had ducked the axe which ricochet off the force field around the arena and back into the girl's head.

That had led to Haymitch Abernathy's becoming the second Victor from 12.

Before he could think of how other Games had played out, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Ceasar called.

A Peacekeeper strode in and said, "The President wishes to see you."

Ceasar got up right away, being late for such a meeting was never a good idea.

Even if Romulus was not as dangerous as his father. Yet.

* * *

"So how do you think the Games are going," Romulus asked as soon as Ceasar entered the room.

"Most of the deaths have been well received. Though the frostbite death as seen as anticlimactic," he replied before continuing, "The death of the girl from 4 was surprising."

"I thought that they would be better prepared and know to look around. District 4 needs to step up their game, if they want to hold up to the sobriquet "Career District"," Romulus muttered.

Were you betting on the girl then," Ceasar asked.

"No. I have my money bet on other tributes," Romulus replied.

* * *

Nikola was out setting traps. He'd been doing alright for most of the day.

He'd already brought back a haul of rabbits from his traps back to the cave. Damon and Isabel were skinning them with ease.

He had never thought that he would make it this far into the Games. Nikola had even caused the death of another tribute with one of his more lethal traps. And it had even been a Career tribute!

"Look what we have here. Let's have some fun," a voice sneered.

Nikola turned around and saw 3 members of the Career pack. He should have been paying more attention to his surroundings.

Before he could move, the boy from 1 hit Nikola on the side of the side of the head with the flat of his sword, plunging him into darkness.

* * *

What surprised Nikola was the fact that he did wake up. He'd been "helped" awake by a slap to the face.

"Ah. Looks like our guest has finally woken up," Trident grinned.

Nikola could only blink as the girl from 1 hauled him up. He noticed that the pair from 2 were conspicuously absent.

"Okay, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Tell us where your alliance is hidden and we'll kill you quickly. Don't tell us, and we'll make you wish you'd never been born," Auric said in a tone that made you think he was asking which wine would be best to go with fish.

Nikola just turned his face away. They would be killing him anyway, not that he would even _consider_ telling these psychos where his allies were hidden. He knew that they were mainly after Isabel.

"Suit yourself," Serena drawled as she gave a Nikola kidney punch. Once he was down, the two boys started kicking every inch of him they could reach.

* * *

After they seemed to have finally gotten tired of kicking him around like a soccer ball, Auric hauled him up to a standing position, frog marched him over to a tree and tied him to it with Nikola's face into the tree.

Auric, Serena, and Trident then broke branches from a cedar tree and took turns flogging his back.

"This can all stop you know. Just tell us where your allies are hiding," Trident said as he took another turn at the recalcitrant boy from 5.

Through the agony of his broken ribs, Nikola snarled, "Go to hell" with a baleful glare.

The Careers just went back to beating him raw.

Nikola wondered what they'd do next.

* * *

He was taken down and had a cloth placed over his face. The two boys held him down, as Serena poured several bottles of water over his face.

 _"Looks like they've moved to waterboarding,"_ Nikola thought.

He had no idea how long this had been going on.

* * *

"What do we do with you next," Auric mocked.

Nikola's back felt like flames were licking every inch of it.

"He's not going to talk. Let's just end it," Trident growled. This had been a massive waste of time.

Nikola watched in a daze as his torturers cut from two medium sized trees.

"Come on 5. We're gonna leave someplace for your allies to find you," Serena dragged him along.

"My name... is Nikola," he choked out.

 _"This is where I die. At least I didn't rat my allies out. I can die with honor,"_ Nikola thought as he watched them knock together a cross.

 _"They're going to crucify me,"_ was one of Nikola's last coherent thoughts through his pain hazed mind.

His back burned as they roughly threw him onto the boards. He felt ropes being tied around his wrists.

Knives were also driven into his wrists.

After getting the cross up, Trident snickered, "We'll be leaving you here. Enjoy hanging out."

* * *

Rose was running as fast as she could. She'd been near Nikola's area on her way back from patrolling, when she heard a high pitched laugh. Moving quietly towards the noise, Rose had seen three Careers flogging Nikola with branches.

Rose wasn't stupid. Taking on three Careers at once, on her own, was suicide. That was why she was running towards the cave.

When she got back, Rose blurted, "Three Careers are torturing Nikola."

"We can't fight them in the open," Thomas argued.

"If they're focused on Nikola, we could catch them off guard," Rose argued.

"It would be nice to knock another Career or two out," Damon mused.

Isabel started to open her mouth and Damon as if reading her mind said, "No. Absolutely not. You are staying here and hiding."

"But..." Isabel started before Thomas said, "Isabel, I know you're bored. But it's safer for you to hide here."

"We'd also move faster," Rose remarked.

Isabel knew that she was a liability. It didn't mean she liked it.

"Okay go find Nikola. I'll hold down the fort," she grumbled.

The other three ran off with their weapons.

Isabel settled into her chair, the baby kicking visibly. She had a very bad feeling about what they would find.

* * *

Damon, Thomas, and Rose booked it back to where Rose had last seen Nikola. It took them over an hour to get there.

"MARY MOTHER OF GOD," Damon exclaimed.

The trio was struck dumb at the site of their ally on a cross. The Careers had crucified him in addition to whatever else they did.

Thomas recovered his voice first ordering, "For God's sake, cut him down!"

The other two broke out of their shock and proceeded to do that.

As they brought him down, Nikola was moaning "I didn't tell them, I didn't tell them" over and over.

* * *

Thomas looked Nikola over with the practiced eye of a healer.

Nikola's chest looked like one big bruise. He could also see that several ribs were broken.

 _"Ribs in the back are also likely broken,"_ Thomas catalogued.

The way Nikola was breathing also made Thomas suspect that at least one of his lungs was punctured.

He turned to Rose and Damon saying, "We need to talk."

* * *

"His wounds are too much," Thomas whispered.

"I can see that," Damon drawled with sarcasm clear in his voice. But he all knew what Thomas was saying.

As he drew his machete, Rose beat him over to Nikola. She knelt down besides him, saying, "It's going to be alright now."

Nikola wheezed a "thank you."

A short time later, Rose choked up on her scythe and sliced Nikola's carotid artery, ending his suffering.

 _Nikola Coil, 12th Place, District 5, tortured by Trident, Auric, and Serena_

As soon as the cannon fired, Rose dropped her weapon and ran off to vomit in the bushes.

* * *

Damon did feel sorry for Nikola. Being tortured for information that he didn't give, then crucified was not a good way to go.

He'd been reaching for his weapon when Rose did what he'd been about to do himself.

And while it was nice to have allies now, Damon knew that such alliances were temporary.

The only person he truly trusted in the arena was Isabel. And Damon's main focus was getting Isabel and himself home.

 _"At least I didn't have to kill him by stabbing him in the back,"_ Damon thought as the trio trudged back to the cave.

* * *

 **A/N 2: Those Careers certainly showed their brutality. Don't worry, they'll get their comeuppance in time. Romulus Snow is cast as Kiefer Sutherland. So... what did you all think of it? SSD**


	10. Avalanche!

**Chapter X: Avalanche!**

 **A/N: With the long wait comes a chapter full of drama. Please excuse Haymitch's use of a choice word, he was well within reason to use it! Thanks go out to TheReaper94 and alexandria-likethecityinegypt for their assistance. Italics are flashbacks or listing of deaths. Here are days 7 and 8 of the 80th Hunger Games. Enjoy! SSD**

* * *

 **Day VII**

* * *

Isabel was having trouble sleeping. Especially since the others got back. Nikola was dead. And when she'd asked if it was a quick death, they had all said yes. It had been too quick an answer. They were all keeping something from her.

Then again, she was keeping something from them as well.

While the others had gone after Nikola, Isabel had gotten a gift from a sponsor: two gorgeous daggers.

They had bone handles with silver inlaid into the grip. The blades were curved and were etchings of leaves and vines on the blades as well.

She could tell that they were of the highest quality. They had to be expensive.

There had been a note wrapped around the sheathes.

 _I saw the video of your training session. May these daggers fly straight and your aim be true._

After making sure that Rose and Thomas were sound asleep, Isabel crept towards Damon.

Damon noticed her walking towards him and asked, "What is it Izzy?"

"I have something to show you," she replied as she brought the daggers into view.

Damon gave a low whistle as he took them in.

"Those probably cost a pretty penny. Did the note say who sent them," he asked.

"No. There was no name," Isabel whispered back.

The wind whistled through the mountains as they both wondered who could have possibly afforded to send Isabel those daggers. The baby wriggled as well.

* * *

They weren't the only ones who were wondering where the daggers had come from. Tylara was wondering as well.

Few Capitolians would have the money to buy those daggers. Even fewer would have been able to see the training video *and* send the daggers directly to Isabel, going around Tylara herself.

Once she got back to the District 10 floor, all Tylara wanted to do was sleep. But she noticed a video call was waiting, and when she saw the caller id Tylara decided not to ignore it.

Tylara answered the call and smiled as she saw her son Alistair. He looked tense, but had a huge smile plastered on his face.

"What's wrong Alistair," she asked.

"Nothing mom. How are you doing," her grey eyed son deflected.

Undeceived, Tylara pressed, "I'm your mother. I can tell when something is up with you. What's wrong?"

Thomas wavered for a moment before saying, "I asked Lena to marry me."

Tylara smiled, "That's great Alistair!"

"Don't get excited. She said no," Alistair replied.

"Why? I thought you two were serious," Tylara exclaimed.

"She told me she didn't want kids. You know I do," Alistair replied, his voice tight as if he was trying to keep himself from crying.

"I'm sorry. I liked her, but it's good that you found out now. She obviously wasn't the right one for you," Tylara soothed.

Then an all too familiar voice drawled, "That's a myth. There ***are*** no right ones."

Tylara started in her seat. The worst possible person to see her talking to her son had just walked in: Haymitch.

She scrambled to turn it off with a "I'll call you back" as Alistair asked, "Mom who is..." Before he could finish the call cut out.

 _"Please whoever's listening, let Haymitch not have seen..."_ Tylara thought.

Haymitch shouted, "What the Hell?!"

Tylara swung around in the chair. This was going to be ugly.

* * *

"You lied to me!" Haymitch's eyes were blazing like wildfire.

Before Tylara could get a word in edgewise, Haymitch cut her off with, "Were you ever going to tell me about him or were you going to keep this to yourself forever?"

Tylara began with, "I can explain . . ."

"Explain? How can you explain something like this? Did you not think I had a right to know? He's my son and I never even knew he existed!" Haymitch was nearly beyond reason.

She said, "It wasn't like . . ."

"Oh, and what was it like, huh? Because I have no idea . . . Because YOU NEVER TOLD ME!"

Tylara replied, "I didn't exactly lie to you . . ."

"No! You just didn't fucking tell me at all!"

Before she could even reply to that, Haymitch hissed, "You know, Tylara, a lie by omission is still a lie."

As he left, he slammed the door hard enough to knock a painting off the wall, shattering the glass.

* * *

The two Victors had not been as alone as they thought.

Gale had heard every word, he thought, _"Holy shit, Haymitch has a kid?"_

Tylara was just sitting in the chair in front of the video call screen.

She looked up and upon seeing him there she asked, "You heard that?"

He nodded.

"All of it?"

He nodded again.

Tylara got up and braced her hands on a window sill. She spoke in a whisper, but still loud enough for Gale to hear, "I wanted to tell him. I really did. you know how the prior president was."

Gale nodded. He had been present for Gale's Avoxing.

"I just... couldn't take that risk. If it had been common knowledge that Haymitch was Alistair's father, it likely would have been my son's death sentence."

Taking a deep breath, Tylara recovered her composure with, "I need to get down to the Games Center. Aras is likely waiting."

* * *

Auric was out on patrol hunting for other tributes.

This year's batch of outer district tributes were particularly good at hiding this time around. The only tribute that had been found during hunting had been the trap boy from 5.

He'd been eating a bunch of wild grapes he'd found along a river in the arena, after he ran out of the food he had with him. They were a bit bitter, but seemed okay.

On his way back to the Cornucopia, Auric went by the river where he'd found the wild grapes. He began to feel something akin to severe gas pains, which steadily got worse.

He fell to his knees beside the river, doubled over in pain.

Auric could feel an explosion coming, and he was able to pull his pants down.

No sooner had he managed that, an eruption of diarrhea happened. Auric managed to turn his head around and saw that there was blood in the stool and a lot of it.

He'd been poisoned somehow.

Auric then stuck his finger down his throat to try and make himself vomit. He puked, but his stomach pain just got worse.

Another explosion of bloody diarrhea shot out of him. Auric's whole body began to jerk around.

All of the sudden, the urge to take off all his clothes hit him. And it sounded like a good idea.

No sooner had Auric done that, two more spurts of the runs escaped him. He couldn't bring himself to care.

After several more spurts, Auric was lying down, shivering.

Maybe if he slept, the agony would end.

 _Auric Jerome, 11th Place, District 1, moonseed poisoning, Day VII_

* * *

A short time later in the Game Center...

Tylara breathed a sigh of relief. Another Career was dead, and due to his own stupidity.

"I thought that Careers knew better than to eat anything outside the Cornucopia," Aras remarked before saying, "Though that's how I won my Games. The girl from 2 ate some Barbados nuts."

"Be thankful you didn't have to watch it. That was unpleasant," Tylara commented.

* * *

 **Day VIII, late morning...**

James had been on tenterhooks since the day of the reaping. The girl he loved had been intentionally reaped. Then as per the coin toss they'd made, Damon had volunteered to go into the Arena to protect her.

Isabel. He'd been in love with her for years. And just when he had gotten the courage up to ask her out, Erik had beaten him to the punch.

He couldn't feel bitter. Erik had been his best friend besides Damon.

In the end, Erik had made Izzy happy, and that had been enough for him. James remembered the day of the funeral. He, Isabel, and Damon had been forbidden to go. They were going to find a way to say goodbye to him their own way.

 _Not unsurprisingly, James woke up to the sound of someone retching in the bathroom._

 _Isabel, it seemed, was suffering from morning sickness._

 _She'd been staying at the Martell house most days. Her family had become downright cold and distant with her. Except for Tristan who couldn't understand why everyone was being mean to his favorite sister._

 _James padded over to the bathroom and opened it. Sure enough, Isabel was kneeling before the toilet._

 _He shuffled over and gathered her hair away from her face and rubbed her back._

 _When she finished puking, Isabel murmured, "Thank you."_

 _"Why don't you take a shower? It'll help you feel better. I'll make you some tea and crackers," James soothed._

 _"Thank you. For everything," Isabel replied._

 _James went into the kitchen and started making the ginger tea. The ginger came from his mother's garden._

 _Roxanne, his 11 year old sister was in the kitchen as well._

 _"How's Izzy doing," she asked._

 _"She'll feel a bit better after drinking this," he replied._

 _A short time later, Isabel padded into the kitchen, still quite pale. With nod and the barest ghost of a smile, drank the tea and nibbled the crackers._

 _"Thank you, James," she whispered._

* * *

James was taking his sister Roxy out to a park after she begged for him to spend more time with her.

While his sister was playing, James saw Erik's brother Patrick. Who was likely one of his murderers.

Instead of going after James himself, Patrick decided to go for Roxanne by sneering, "Hey Roxanne. You know they're going to be sending your brother back in pieces right?"

Before James could even take a step towards her, Roxanne jumped off the playground equipment, charged Patrick yelling "YAARRGH!" and tackled him. Patrick was 20 years old and a lot bigger than Roxanne.

Even though there were Peacekeepers in the growing crowd, they didn't do anything to stop Roxy from sitting on Patrick's chest and hitting him in the face. She was also using language James wondered where she picked it up! The Peacekeepers were too busy laughing along with the crowd.

James had been laughing too, before he ran up to his spitfire of a sister and dragged her off Patrick. Roxanne managed to get a kick to Patrick's family jewels.

The crowd applauded and cheered even more.

He stopped dragging his sister, knelt down before her and asked, "What the he- What on Earth were you thinking?" James had needed to catch himself.

"He needed to be taught a lesson," Roxanne cried, hot tears coming down her cheeks, before blurting, "He was being mean to you and me, and he's been mean to Izzy!"

"That he has," James replied. Patrick had been a bully all his life.

The Bostwicks were largely pieces of work, except for Erik, and his 15 year old sister Aurora, who adored her big brother.

James had an incredibly bad feeling that the entire family, save for Aurora, had likely gotten away with murder.

* * *

Back in the arena... later on Day VIII

Isabel was feeling itchy inside her own skin. What didn't help matters was that the baby had dancing a jig inside her the entire night.

Still, she'd managed to be productive today. Isabel had taken three camping backpacks and packed them full with food and supplies.

She'd attached the tent to the backpack that Damon would be using with ease.

"Izzy, what are you doing," Damon asked.

"I'm just getting the supplies together. You three need to watch each other's backs when you go check those traps," she replied.

"I still don't think leaving you alone is a good idea," Rose countered, beating Damon to that issue.

"I'll be fine. Thomas helped me move the stuff that I'll have into the cave, and I now have my own methods of self defense," Isabel said in reply.

She had shown Rose and Thomas the daggers she'd received while they were gone. Isabel had also demonstrated her skill with them.

"Is that what you showed in your private sessions," Thomas asked.

Isabel had nodded in reply.

After that moment of introspection, she began to shoo them away from the cave saying, "Now get going. The sooner you leave, the sooner you get back!"

Isabel had been feeling achy everywhere all day. She'd pushed through it wanting to get the backpacks packed up and the supplies moved back into the cave.

She sat down in her camp chair. Of course, the baby began wriggling again.

* * *

When the other three had been gone for roughly an hour, according to her watch, Isabel heard a rumble. Some small rocks tumbled. The vibrations grew stronger as snow slid in front of the cave. Moments later a wall of snow covered the opening, blocking it completely.

Isabel snarled, "Ah shit!"

* * *

Achilles had been patrolling nearby when the avalanche hit. He'd tried to outrun it, but to no avail.

First the wall of snow threw him into a boulder.

His last coherent vision was of a tree falling down on him.

 _Achilles Corvin, 10th Place, District 2, avalanche, Day VIII_

* * *

At the sound of the cannon firing, Damon was off like a shot shouting, "I KNEW I shouldn't have left her alone!"

Rose and Thomas tore after him.

* * *

Tristan Storm was numb. He didn't know whether his sister was alive or dead.

He looked at James, who was kneeling on the floor, ashen faced.

The only word Tristan could hear James say was, "No."

* * *

 **A/N 2: And this chapter comes to an end. A few things:**

 **1\. I tweaked the reaction time of the moonseed poisoning to be a lot faster than it usually is. Auric ate a lot of them, so that sped up the time window.**

 **2\. The new castings are Ben Barnes as James Martell and Anthony Mackie as Aras McCoy. James and Damon are fraternal twins.**

 **3\. Haven't cast Tylara's son Alistair. Open to suggestions. What do you all think of who Dad is for him by the way? I said that Haymitch and Tylara were good friends. I just didn't say _how_ good of friends they were at one point! ;)**

 **And lastly...**

 **4\. The next three chapters will be a part of an arc. Any guesses as to what will be happening over the course of the arc? ;)**

 **Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, can't wait to see what you all think! Happy Groundhog Day! SSD**


	11. Worst Timing Ever!

**Chapter XI: Worst. Timing. Ever!**

 **A/N: Here's the first chapter of the birth arc. I've been looking forward to this for a very long time! I also had a lot of fun with the next few chapter titles. Thank yous go to alexandria-likethecityinegypt and TheReaper94 for their help. Enjoy the update! SSD**

* * *

 **Very late evening on Day VIII into early morning of Day IX**

* * *

Once it became clear that the snow blocking the cave opening, save for a little bit at the top, was there to stay, Isabel had began putting up the lanterns in a few of the niches in the cave.

All of the sudden, Isabel noticed a dull throb of pain in her back. She chalked it up to moving all the stuff around.

As time wore on, the ache became more constant and persistent.

 _"No. No, no, no. This isn't happening. These are just those fake ones Doctor Martell told me about,"_ Isabel thought.

Looking down at her belly she hissed, "Listen up, young man. This is the absolute worst timing ever. You settle down, and wait until this is over. Do you hear me?"

What seemed to be a reply was another kick to her side before the next wave of pain hit.

She timed the pain. They seemed to be roughly 20 minutes apart at the moment.

There was a chance that the Games would end and maybe have the baby outside the arena.

 _"Yeah right,"_ Isabel thought.

* * *

 **0145 Day IX, Game Center**

Haymitch was the one up at this time keeping an eye on the alliance.

To say that he had been a bit distracted since finding out that he had a son was a gross understatement.

He remembered that night all too well. By some fluke, in the 57th Hunger Games, the tributes from 10 nor 12 had not died in the bloodbath.

 _Haymitch had been sitting at a bar in the Games Center on the fifth day of the Games. His two had just been gutted by the Career pack. And it looked like one of Tylara's wouldn't last the night. In the morning, he would be heading back to 12 with two more pine boxes._

 _Even though he hadn't seen Tylara in several hours, Haymitch had a pretty good idea what might be going on. It was what most Victors had to do, and what Tylara had been doing since her win during the 46th Hunger Games._

 _Haymitch motioned for another drink shortly before he saw her enter. Despite the deaths of his tributes he smiled a greeting._

 _"So you're heading back to 12," she had asked._

 _"Yep. No reason to stay any longer," he'd replied._

Haymitch had long since forgotten who had moved towards the other first, but one thing led to another, and they were on the way to 12's floor.

Even when he'd fallen to the haze of alcohol, he had been able to remember that night with perfect clarity.

She had not been there in the morning. That had been standard procedure, since they'd done this a prior to now. Haymitch had not thought much of it at the time.

However what he noticed was that the female mentor for 10 the next year was Reina. When he had asked how Tylara was doing, the old woman had said that she was alright, it was just Reina's turn to mentor for a bit.

Beetee also seemed to know something about Tylara's absence. But like the mentors from 10, he was keeping his mouth shut.

"Remembering things," a familiar voice asked. It was Tylara.

"Never forgot it," Haymitch replied without turning around.

Before Tylara could reply, Haymitch waved her silent. She saw that he was looking at the screen which had Isabel on the screen.

Isabel had been moving things around, along with putting up some of the lanterns she had.

She made a visible wince with her hand on her nearly 39 week belly.

"Oh shit. That's not good. Can she just cross her legs or something," Haymitch blurted, not using his head.

Tylara's first response was to slap him upside the head before snarling, "Oh yeah, like that's going to work!"

"I wasn't thinking. I know that won't work," Haymitch muttered as he rubbed the back of his head.

Tylara looked on her tablet. She had more than enough money to give Damon some stuff that would help Damon get to Isabel.

* * *

 **Happening concurrently with the conversation in the Game Center...**

* * *

As they had got closer to the cave, Rose, Damon, and Thomas started having to trudge through snow. What should have taken maybe 30 minutes, took nearly two hours, with occasional stops for breathers.

When they came up to where the cave opening was, and saw that it was covered with snow, Rose hissed, "That's not good."

Damon dove towards the opening. He began moving away snow with his bare hands, with Thomas and Rose joining in.

When they were about to stop for the night, the Capitolian anthem played and showed the face of Achilles.

"Another Career is dead," Thomas remarked.

"The remaining ones will become more dangerous than ever," Damon growled as he went back to grabbing snow.

* * *

About an hour later, Thomas and Rose dragged Damon away to set up their camp. They'd been up most of the night. As they finished setting up the tent, the arrival of three long, thin boxes with smaller boxes on top of them came from the sky. The numbers 10, 11, and 12 were attached. Damon got to his boxes first. There was a note in the box that had thick work gloves in it.

The words on the note were simple: _She's alive. Hurry._

Damon had this incredibly bad feeling as to why he was being told to hurry: Isabel was in labor.

He then saw that the other two had also gotten work gloves. In the long, thin boxes, there were shovels.

Sleep was needed. In the morning, shoveling would begin in earnest.

* * *

Isabel knew that she was in for the long haul. According to the books she'd read and what she'd been told, first labors were long.

She picked up a piece of wood she'd collected earlier in the games and began to carve a chess rook.

Isabel loved to play the gave and in the chess tournament at school she would beat all the girls and most of the boys. Erik had been one of the few who could beat her. She planned on teaching their child the game.

After another contraction, she timed it again. They were still roughly twenty minutes apart, maybe a little less. Time was something she had no shortage of here.

* * *

Damon had been forced to not take the first watch. Rose had taken it, and Thomas had fallen asleep almost immediately after getting into his sleeping bag.

He knew that sleep would not come to him easily, if at all.

Isabel was alive in that cave, the note told him as much.

Damon had a sinking feeling that she was in labor, and was likely, despite the best efforts of getting Thomas to be a member of their alliance, it would be nearly for nothing.

He'd gone into the Games with the sole intent of keeping Isabel as safe as possible. Now that there were nine tributes left, Damon remembered that the rule from the 74th Hunger Games about two tributes becoming Victors as long as they were from the same district.

He wanted James to have a shot with Isabel. He wanted to keep his promise to Erik. He wanted to see his family again. He wanted to ride his horse Hurricane again.

Damon wanted a lot of things. And he would do just about anything to get himself, Isabel, and her kid back to District 10.

* * *

 **A/N 2: So... what do you all think?**


	12. An Ancient Instinct

**Chapter XII: An Ancient Instinct**

 **A/N: There was some writer's block on this chapter, but I plugged through it. Thanks go out to TheReaper94 and alexandria-likethecityinegypt for their help. This is the second chapter in the arc. Some more gore in this chapter, courtesy of one of our Careers. Hope you enjoy! SSD**

* * *

 **0900 Day IX**

* * *

Isabel managed to get snatches of sleep over the course of the night between getting up to go to the bathroom and dealing with the twinges of pain that were growing in frequency, intensity, and duration.

She'd managed to carve all four rooks in the midst of all that.

 _"What piece to carve next,"_ Isabel thought to herself before another contraction hit. She leaned against the wall of the cave to ride it out.

Isabel looked at her watch. They'd been steadily getting closer together all night, with the last one being 13 minutes ago.

 _"That was a big one,"_ she thought, _"But they'll get bigger."_

Her water hadn't broken. Yet. She was thankful for that small blessing at the moment.

She looked at the wall of snow. It wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

The baby was still moving around in between the contractions. While a bit irksome, it did let Isabel know that her little one was still alive.

"Take it easy alright? You'll be out soon enough," she murmured as she gave her belly a rub.

* * *

 **1100 Day IX**

Since the death of Achilles the day before, Freya had been on edge. She had barely slept the night before, expecting Trident or Serena to kill her in her sleep.

Serena might let her leave peacefully. On the other hand, she was surprised that Trident hadn't killed her already.

Freya remembered her thoughts on the male volunteer from 4. She could tell that he'd be one who liked killing and killing messily.

She looked over her supplies she had in her pack: Five packets of beef jerky, one packets of dried fruit, a large and full water bottle, some water purification tablets, and a sleeping bag. Her katana was next to the sack.

It was now or never.

 _"If I die, I want it to be an honest fight, not in my sleep,"_ Freya thought as she bolted for the treeline with her supplies.

* * *

"Well I guess the alliance is over," Trident remarked. This would just make things easier.

"So it is," Serena replied calmly.

With no warning at all, Trident whirled around and stabbed Serena in the chest, then the stomach with his namesake weapon, twirling her intestines like they were spaghetti noodles.

"This is certainly a mess," the sandy haired boy said as he continued to twirl her intestines.

 _Serena Emerald, 9th Place, District 1, stabbed in the chest and stomach, Day IX, Trident Hook_

Trident removed his weapon and began to clean it. He'd deal with Freya later.

* * *

Damon, Thomas, and Rose paused in their shoveling at the sound of the latest cannon firing.

Thomas said, "We're in the Elite Eight now."

"That means family interviews back in the districts. Hopefully they'll talk to Izzy's little brother Tristan more than the rest of her family. He's the only one who's been treating her right since Erik's death," Damon growled.

"So who's left besides us," Rose asked.

"Two Careers, the four of us..." Thomas furrowed his brow. That was only six. Who had he forgotten?

"I haven't seen hide nor hair of the two from 7 on any of my patrols. They must be hiding themselves well," Damon remarked.

There were six more tributes standing between he and Isabel getting back to 10.

* * *

Back in the Capitol...

Kronus Amarillo had just returned from District 4 after interviewing Trident Hook's family. He had come to see where the potentially sociopathic career tribute got his behavior from: His father, who had talked about nothing else but his son's most recent and gruesome kill with glee.

The man was also of the opinion that his son would win and get to cut a newborn child out of it's mother as a trophy.

Kronus had never been more glad to finish an Elite 8 interview, which would have to be heavily edited before he could even _think_ about showing it in the Capitol.

On his way to the editing area, he spied Thalia Ozera. They were friendly enough with each other and she had been sent to District 10, which was one of two remaining districts with both of their tributes still in the Games.

The tributes from 10 were certainly an interesting pair this year. Isabel Storm was near the end of her pregnancy, and was suspected to be in labor. Damon Martell was a rare outer district volunteer, albeit his reason for volunteering was to fulfill a promise to his dead best friend, who was the father. To add to the mix, Damon's twin brother James was said to be in love with Isabel.

"Thalia, how was District 10," he asked.

"Dusty. I only really interviewed the Martells. They were more open about Isabel. Her family was less than helpful. However, her younger brother was visiting the Martells. I can work with what he gave me," Thalia replied.

"Did you talk to the male tribute's twin about Isabel," Kronus asked.

"I tried. The poor lad turned crimson when I asked about her. How was 4?"

"Let's just say that I can see where the boy gets his behavior from," Kronus shuddered.

He'd heard rumors of Victors killed after their Games, due to the fact that they'd come to like killing and decided they didn't want to stop after leaving the arena. Their deaths were always written off as accidents.

If Trident Hook won, sometime down the road, he would likely become one of those Victors.

* * *

 **1700 Day IX**

The pain was getting worse. The contractions were now only five minutes apart.

Isabel was trying to remain as calm as possible. She'd given up carving the chess pieces a short time earlier since the contractions were starting to make her hands shake.

Her water still hadn't broke. She was thinking that getting her lower clothes off now while they were dry would be easier than trying to get them off wet.

Isabel toed off her shoes followed by her socks a short time later.

 _"Thankfully the jacket we were given is a long one,"_ she thought as she removed the rest of her clothing on her lower body.

By some miracle, she'd gotten this done in less than five minutes. Which meant she got to be sitting in her camp chair when the next contraction hit.

 _"I want this little devil out of me and in my arms!"_

* * *

Damon was on edge. He had a feeling in his bones that the Games would be ending soon.

As he looked at the tent where his allies were napping, Damon ran his hand along his machete.

They would soon outlive their usefulness. But Damon would not kill them in their sleep.

He was a better man than that!

* * *

Back in the Game Center...

Haymitch, Tylara, and Aras all breathed sighs of relief when Damon turned back his attention to standing his watch.

"I was pretty sure your boy wasn't going to kill them, but he had me going for a moment," Haymitch remarked as he took a belt from a flask that he had on him.

"A fight is coming. The other tributes are slowly moving towards that area," Aras said as he flicked a glance at the other screens showing the tributes.

"Looks like the Gamemakers are going for a second bloodbath," Tylara replied with a slight shudder. That had been where she'd won her Games.

"The pair from 7 have split up. Don't they know that the both go home," Haymitch said as he looked at the screen depicting the split. It was an amicable one.

* * *

 **2048 Day IX**

 _"Why won't this kid hurry up and get out of me?!"_

That had been one of the main things that had been going through Isabel's mind for the past few hours.

She'd been walking a lot, which was said to help things along. While the contractions hit during her pacing, she had leaned against the wall with her hand against her belly.

The contractions were now hitting hard and fast, she couldn't believe that her water hadn't broken yet.

As soon as that thought entered her mind, Isabel's insides seemed to clench, and the next thing she saw was a puddle of mud between her feet.

 _"Ah shit!"_

* * *

 **A/N 2: And we have a cliffhanger! The next chapter is going to be full of action! Can't wait to hear what you all think!**


	13. A Breath of Life

**Chapter XIII: A Breath of Life**

 **A/N: Sorry about the long wait. Parts of this chapter were highly difficult to write, and there was some more writer's block to deal with. Thanks go out to alexandria-likethecityinegypt and TheReaper94. One use of an expletive in the chapter. Something in this chapter happens that I've been waiting to have happen since I first started this story... ;) Enjoy the chapter! SSD**

* * *

 **2128 Day IX, the Game Center**

* * *

If the past few hours of the Games could be described as slow, the past half hour had been anything but that. In that time frame, they'd gone from having eight tributes, to having only four, soon to be three. The girl from 7 was putting up one hell of a fight against Trident, but she was likely going to lose. And Isabel's water broke as well, which added to the drama.

Haymitch's tribute Thomas had lasted much longer than expected. He'd even managed to injure Freya before she killed him. Haymitch had smirked a bit when that injury had slowed her down long enough for Rose to decapitate Freya.

 _"That'll be a closed casket funeral,"_ he thought.

Rose did not get to savor her victory over Freya for long. The boy from 7 laid into her with his axe, killing her instantly.

Cedar and Damon circled each other for a few moments when there was a sudden crack of the whip, which yanked the axe from Cedar's hands. Another crack, and the whip was around Cedar's waist. The sixteen year old from 7 was yanked forward and impaled on Damon's machete.

Once said machete was removed, Damon was off like a shot towards the cave.

* * *

 **2135 Day IX, the arena**

* * *

Damon got to the cave a lot faster than he thought he would. To his surprise, most of the snow had since melted and he could heard Isabel groaning in pain.

He grabbed a shovel and started shoveling as if lives depended on it.

 _"Well, they do,"_ Damon thought ruefully.

As Damon began to break through, a voice snarled out, "Damon that better be you."

"Who else would it be? How are you doing?"

"How am I doing? I'm in the middle of having this blasted baby, that's what I am doing!"

Damon froze, "What? You mean right NOW?"

"YES! Right NNO-O-OOWW," Isabel yowled.

Damon was thinking _"Oh shit, Oh shit, Oh shit,"_ as he began digging faster.

As he bent down for another pile of snow, Damon was hit in the back of the head by a snowball.

Damon turned around, and sure enough it was Trident, with a diabolical grin on his face.

"I always figured it would be the two of us fighting it out? Is the turtle still alive? Then again, with the way you were digging at the cave opening, she probably is. I'm going to enjoy killing her and the kid."

Damon slowly returned the diabolical grin with a "It's time I did the world a favor and rid it of a rabid dog!" With that, he swung the shovel at Trident's head.

* * *

The mad boy from 4 blocked the blow with his namesake weapon with ease and tried tangling the shovel away. Damon yanked it away before it happened.

Damon knew that he would not be able to use his whip nor his machete. The machete was short range (and Damon wasn't much at throwing weapons) and the whip required room to use it, and Trident would not likely let him have that room.

As he dodged a jab, Damon thought about what the two of them were fighting for. Trident was fighting for glory and gore. Damon was fighting for Isabel, her kid, and himself to get home and give Mayor Bostwick a giant "Fuck You."

Damon didn't want to think about what would happen if he failed. Though with her skill with daggers that bordered on the supernatural occasionally, Isabel stood a chance.

All of the sudden Isabel let out a scream. Damon paused and paid for it. Trident stabbed him in the side.

He could feel the blood seeping into his shirt. Damon fell to his knees trying to stop the bleeding with his bare hands as he fell into the dirty snow.

* * *

Trident bolted past the bleeding boy from 10.

 _"At last, I'll have my prize!"_

As he dug what was left of the snow, he crowed, "I'm coming for you, District 10. I'm gonna cut that mewling brat from your body, and you're going to watch!"

What happened next, was not something Trident expected. The moment he entered the cave, a knife came flying through the air, and nailed him in the throat.

 _"The fat cow got me,"_ was his last thought as the ground came up to meet him.

* * *

Isabel leaned back. She'd dealt with the threat, throwing a knife into the bastard from 4 while in a lying down position.

 _"Oh I'm good!"_

A blinding pain snapped her from her thoughts. The pain served as a reminder that there was one more thing for her to do.

It felt like she was being split in half. The baby sure was taking it's own sweet time being born.

 _"What if something was wrong? What if the cord was wrapped around the baby's neck?"_

Isabel pushed again. The contraction ended. Everything felt like it was burning.

 _"Was the baby going to be healthy? Was everything going as it was supposed to be..."_

She groaned through the next contraction as she pushed yet again.

 _"Was Damon dead? She hadn't heard a cannon, so maybe he wasn't dead?"_

This time she had to growl through the latest contraction. The burning seemed to be gone.

 _"Next push, the baby's getting out of me!"_

At the next contraction, Isabel let out a primal howl and bore down with all her might. Sure enough, she felt something _the baby_ shoot out of her finally!

No sooner had the baby exited her body, it began to cry as well. She'd barely had time to turn him on his side and clear the fluid out of his mouth.

Isabel leaned back and took a breath. She had a boy. A healthy and very much alive, baby boy.

She watched the blood drain from the cord, then grabbed the dagger that had been heating in a small fire she'd lit. As quickly as she could, Isabel cut the cord, and the heat cauterized the wound.

As she cleaned her little one up, he began to calm. Isabel took a good look at him for the first time.

He had full and thick (for a baby) head of dark hair and his nose looked like it would grow into Erik's nose. The raven's wing black hair was another thing he also had from his father.

Her little cub had her ears and mouth though.

* * *

A noise coming from the cave opening startled her from her musings. Isabel nearly threw the knife before she saw that it was Damon.

He seemed focused on the fact that Trident's body was the one there. Her best friend seemed to be a bit shocky.

Which was when she noticed that Damon was holding his side.

"Damon. Damon. DAMON!" The baby startled at that and she cooed back soothing him.

"Izzy? You're alive?" Damon asked slowly as he stumbled towards her.

"Alive and kicking. Why don't you come over here? There's someone I want you to meet."

When he got over by her, Damon slid down the wall and smiled at the baby. He blurted, "He looks like a little alien."

Isabel rolled her eyes before saying, "Give it a few months. He'll look different!"

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN I GIVE YOU THE VICTORS OF THE 80TH HUNGER GAMES: DAMON MARTELL AND ISABEL STORM!"

A short time later, Peacekeepers and medics came into the cave, Damon was barely conscious and was promptly put onto a stretcher and taken off to the hover craft.

A young medic turned towards Isabel and asked, "Are you able to walk, or would you like to be carried out?"

"I can walk on my own, but could you help me out? Also could you get my knives I used?"

The medic nodded. After he got both knives, Isabel had already made a sling for her baby.

"Does he have a name yet?"

"He does. It's Lucian Erik Storm."

With that she came out of the cave, and into the light of the arena. Soon she was on the hovercraft. Back to the Capitol. And then home.

* * *

Meanwhile back in District 10...

Amaya Jiminez was looking over the district accounts. Some things just weren't adding up and it was driving her _loco._

All of the sudden, the sound of something heavy hitting the wall came from Mayor Bostwick's office.

Amaya clicked onto her computer and saw what was the likely reason for that loud noise.

The latest news about the Hunger Games was: _ISABEL STORM AND DAMON MARTELL BECOME VICTORS OF THE 80th HUNGER GAMES._

Amaya grinned crookedly at that. It was a common suspicion that the District 10 reaping on the part of Isabel had likely been rigged. And now she would be coming home as a Victor.

The cherry on top, was that the baby was also alright!

* * *

 **A/N 2: And after 9 days, the 80th Hunger Games have their Victors. The bit with the knife cauterizing the wound left behind by the cord came from whytewhytch's story Den of Thieves. It's a good story. There's good eye candy in it, but it's not the title character of the series.**

 **Now that Damon and Isabel are heading back to the Capitol, what would be some things you all would like to see? I would love to see what you all think of the chapter. I hope it was worth the wait! SSD**


	14. The Coronation

**Chapter XIV: The Coronation**

 **A/N: I apologize for the long wait. I had to change what I wanted to do, since it wasn't working out as well as I wanted it to be. Hope you enjoy! SSD**

* * *

The past several days had been a blur for Isabel, little Lucian, Damon, and Tylara. After being in the hospital for three days, they were released to the tribute tower to prep for the Coronation.

Lucian would not be brought along to it. The bright lights would not be good for him, so he would be staying in the care of the grey eyed Avox who had been there before the Games. She had already expressed milk for him to be fed while she was at the Coronation. His birth weight was 9lbs 4 ounces and he was 21 inches long.

 _"I wonder if there is a way to request him. He's so good at helping with Lucian,"_ Isabel thought to herself as Antonio helped her into her shimmery blue dress. It was very flattering to her body.

Against Tylara's wishes, the Capitol had done a procedure that had helped get rid of her belly very quickly. While Isabel was somewhat happy by that, she couldn't help but wonder if there had been some other purpose to it.

Also Tylara had been oddly jumpy around Isabel ever since she'd asked how much of the birth had been broadcasted. Which gave Isabel a very bad feeling.

"I am happy to see that you are alive," Antonio said with a smile. "You'll look good."

Damon walked in shortly after that. He was wearing a matching blue suit with gold edging. Isabel was ecstatic that Damon hadn't died for her, though it had been a very near thing.

He gave her a small bow with his characteristic smirk, "Shall we milady?" as he also held out his arm.

"Yes we will," she replied with a smile of her own. But she could tell that he was acting mechanically until they left the Capitol.

And Isabel knew that she was doing the same.

* * *

Damon fidgeted a bit while he and Isabel waited backstage before they were formally introduced as the Victors of the 80th Hunger Games. First their prep teams would come out. Then Gloria and Antonio would come forward. And after them Tylara would come out. She was the second mentor to bring two tributes out of the games, and the first to also bring a newborn infant back out.

Before he could think of anything more Ceasar Flickerman's voice roared out, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the Victors of the 80th Hunger Games: Isabel Storm and Damon Martell!"

He pasted on his best smile, and Isabel did the same.

* * *

 _"They're bantering with Ceasar well. They both just want to get home to District 10, but they're hiding well,"_ Tylara thought of her two newest Victors.

She'd seen a preview of the Victor's Video. And Tylara knew that Isabel and Damon would not be happy at just how much was going to be shown.

As the Victor's Video started she watched as Isabel and Rose ran to the tree line while the boys had gotten to the supplies during the bloodbath. Tylara couldn't help but grin at Nikola's use of pepper spray to impair Achilles and Trident long enough for him to get away with two first rate sleds of food.

She watched Damon flinch a bit when he pushed the boy from 8 out of his way. The boy died moments later.

 _"I'm going to need to have a chat with him about that. He didn't kill Aron Larson. Freya did,"_ Tylara added it to her mental to-do list.

Day 2 of the Games had been quiet, with the Cave Alliance either hunting for food or setting up traps.

Day 3 had shown Nikola's skill with traps, when his biggest and best one subdued Mirena Blackstone of District 4 via impalement.

Days 4-5 had been blizzard days, which meant down time for the Cave Alliance. The Yeti mutt had stayed far away from them.

Day 6 brought about the first death from the Cave Alliance. Tylara hadn't been surprised it was Nikola, since the Careers had been looking for the trap maker. Not much of his torture was shown with only hints of it, until the crucifixion was shown. Rose ending Nikola's life had been a mercy, since he would have suffered while he slowly died. Isabel had also been gifted with two gorgeous and deadly daggers.

 _"I *still* haven't figured out who sent them!"_ Tylara didn't like not knowing who sent her tribute such a valuable and obviously expensive gift. Day 7 nothing much had happened.

Day 8 was where things began to pick up. Two Careers died and Isabel was trapped by an avalanche in the cave, separated from Damon, Rose, and Thomas. Which of course meant that her labor had started a few hours later.

The early morning hours of Day 9 had shown Isabel trying to stay comfortable and Damon trying to get to her and having to be forced to sleep by the two allies who were with him.

Most of Day 9 was slow, except for Trident skewering Serena and twirling her intestines like spaghetti after Freya had left the alliance. Isabel and Damon could now see that the other tributes had been slowly herded towards the cave.

About 20 minutes before the second bloodbath started, Isabel's water finally broke.

Even though she knew the end result, Tylara's heart was in her throat as the final battle between Damon and Trident took place. Tylara had seen Victors like Trident before, and most of them didn't get to enjoy a decade of being a Victor. Never from 10, but mostly from the Career districts.

Meanwhile, Isabel had been working on pushing the baby. How Isabel had even been able to move much less throw the dagger that ended Trident's reign of terror.

Her newest female victor then found out just how many cameras had been on her whilst she was pushing: One on her face, two on her chest and belly, one apiece on the outside of both her legs, and the sixth and final camera... Well it left no doubt as to just how babies were born.

The video cut when Tylara finally chanced a look at Damon and Isabel. Both of their faces were white as sheets.

* * *

As much as Damon wanted to berate them all, for thoroughly embarrassing and mortifying his friend, he knew he would have to unleash his anger some other way and later.

Now it was time for the Listing of the Victors:

 _1st Hunger Games: Henry Outlaw of District 10, 18_ (Damon and Isabel exchanged grins at that)

 _2nd Hunger Games: Sterling Duke of District 6, 16_

 _3rd Hunger Games: Delilah Pratt of District 4, 17_

 _4th Hunger Games: Astraea Bancroft of District 1, 18_

 _5th Hunger Games: Thor Koenig of District 2, 18_

 _6th Hunger Games: May Flanders of District 3, 16_

 _7th Hunger Games: Dwyn North of District 7, 18_

 _8th Hunger Games: Theseus Fisher of District 4, 17_

 _9th Hunger Games: Lin Choi of District 11, 16_

 _10th Hunger Games: Jupiter Stone of District 2, 18_

 _11th Hunger Games: Mags Flanagan of District 4, 17_

 _12th Hunger Games: Flynn Tresor of District 1, 18_

 _13th Hunger Games: Andrew Byrne of District 5, 15_

 _14th Hunger Games: Reina Velasquez of District 10, 16_ (Damon had some memories of her, she'd always had a smile for him)

 _15th Hunger Games: Aphrodite Paget of District 2, 18_

 _16th Hunger Games: Laura Rogers of District 7, 16_

 _17th Hunger Games: Emerald Bute of District 1, 17_

 _18th Hunger Games: Taranis Cooper of District 12, 18_ (" _Surprisingly 12 had *not* been the last District to gain a Victor"_ , Isabel mused)

 _19th Hunger Games: Woof Casino of District 8, 16_

 _20th Hunger Games: Pierce Blood of District 2, 18_

 _21st Hunger Games: Karl Vincent of District 1, 18_

 _22nd Hunger Games: Khan Singh of District 2, 18_

 _23rd Hunger Games: Rafaela Cortez of District 9, 16_

 _24th Hunger Games: Sonja Lee of District 6, 16_

 _25th Hunger Games and the First Quarter Quell: Carol Flynn of District 5, 15_

 _26th Hunger Games: Mordred Grant of District 7, 17_

 _27th Hunger Games: Jason Spencer of District 1, 18_

 _28th Hunger Games: Kali Singh of District 2, 16_

 _29th Hunger Games: Olivia Finnegan of District 8, 17_

 _30th Hunger Games: Khalia Holmes of District 3, 17_

 _31st Hunger Games: Logan Summers of District 10, 18_

 _32nd Hunger Games: Anubis Kartal of District 9, 17_

 _33rd Hunger Games: Seeder Howell of District 11, 18_

 _34th Hunger Games: Pele Seastar of District 4, 17_

 _35th Hunger Games: Beetee Latier of District 3, 16_ (Both Damon and Isabel were familiar with those Games, as they were shown due to Beetee's ingenuity)

 _36th Hunger Games: Errol Bruce of District 6, 17_

 _37th Hunger Games: Alderic Frost of District 7, 18_

 _38th Hunger Games: Porter Millicent Tripp of District 5, 17_

 _39th Hunger Games: Priam LaRue of District 2, 18_

 _40th Hunger Games: Scarlett Barante of District 1, 17_

 _41st Hunger Games: Connor Northrup of District 6, 15_

 _42nd Hunger Games: Poseidon Sand of District 4, 18_

 _43rd Hunger Games: Sif Falk of District 2, 17_

 _44th Hunger Games: Zoe Reed of District 4, 17_

 _45th Hunger Games: Chaff Mitchell of District 11, 18_

 _46th Hunger Games: Tylara Donovan of District 10, 16_ (Damon and Isabel had also watched these Games, since Tylara was a popular Victor)

 _47th Hunger Games: Jay Ross of District 5, 15_

 _48th Hunger Games: Brutus Gunn of District 2, 18_

 _49th Hunger Games: Maeve Black of District 3, 17_

 _50th Hunger Games and the Second Quarter Quell: Haymitch Abernathy of District 12, 16_ (Everyone knew of how Haymitch won, few knew the price he paid for it)

 _51st Hunger Games: Robin Fletcher of District 4, 16_

 _52nd Hunger Games: Lyme Walton of District 2, 18_

 _53rd Hunger Games: Janus Hilton of District 1, 17_ (He was one Tylara remembered dying around the 60th Hunger Games under unusual circumstances)

 _54th Hunger Games: Thomas Bogarde of District 8, 16_

 _55th Hunger Games: Perun Valerious of District 2, 18_

 _56th Hunger Games: Blight Callahan of District 7, 16_

 _57th Hunger Games: Hawker Grumman of District 6, 15_

 _58th Hunger Games: Velkan Ardelean of District 9, 17_

 _59th Hunger Games: Gabriel Colt of District 10, 17_

 _60th Hunger Games: Cecilia Sanchez of District 8, 17_

 _61st Hunger Games: Moira Campbell of District 4, 18_

 _62nd Hunger Games: Enobaria Golding of District 2, 18_ (She was the one with the teeth filed into fangs, Isabel shuddered when she thought about them)

 _63rd Hunger Games: Cashmere Constable of District 1, 18_

 _64th Hunger Games: Gloss Constable of District 1, 17_

 _65th Hunger Games: Finnick Odair of District 4, 14_

 _66th Hunger Games: Dimitra Fleming of District 6, 18_ (She had aged badly, due to morphling looking many times her age by her death in 75th, Tylara recalled)

 _67th Hunger Games: Oliver Gould of District 11, 15_

 _68th Hunger Games: Martin Flynt of District 5, 16_

 _69th Hunger Games: Annie Cresta of District 4, 17_

 _70th Hunger Games: Marina Foss of District 10, 18_

 _71st Hunger Games: Joanna Mason of District 7, 17_

 _72nd Hunger Games: Lupa Knave of District 2, 18_

 _73rd Hunger Games: Wilson Ford of District 6, 16_

 _74th Hunger Games: Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark of District 12, both 16_

 _75th Hunger Games and the Third Quarter Quell: No Victor_

 _76th Hunger Games: Aras McCoy of District 11, 18_

Out of the corner of his eye, Damon noticed the President coming forward with some guards and the crowns.

 _77th Hunger Games: Regulus Griffin of District 2, 18_

 _78th Hunger Games: Gloria Sterling of District 12, 17_

Isabel and Damon came to their feet, knowing it was nearly time.

 _79th Hunger Games: Henry Pine of District 7, 15_

As the silver crowns with sapphires were placed on their heads, their names were added:

 _80th Hunger Games: Isabel Storm and Damon Martell of District 10, both 18_

"You used those daggers well, Miss Storm," was what the President said shortly thereafter.

* * *

The next morning was quiet, as most Capitolians were now sleeping in.

So it was a perfect time in Isabel, Damon, and Tylara's eyes to leave.

When they got inside the train, as she put Lucian down in the travel cot, Isabel noticed the grey eyed Avox.

She asked, "Are you coming with us?"

He nodded in reply.

Damon came into the room and sprawled in a recliner chair with a glass of whiskey in his hands. They exchanged tired smiles.

They would soon be home!

* * *

 **A/N 2: And Breath of Life has ended. To the unanswered questions, there will be a sequel where Isabel and James talk, the Victory Tour will take place, and Mayor Bostwick will get his just desserts! Which district do you all think would be the most uncomfortable for Isabel and Damon to vist? SSD**

 **PS- The Victors listed in the 10th, 17th, and 40th Hunger Games will be Victors a story by TheReaper94. I used them with permission.**


	15. Sequel posted!

**The first chapter of the sequel has been posted. It's titled (at the moment) Breath of Life: The Victory Tour. Am also looking for someone to make a cover for it.**


End file.
